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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631204">What We Do For Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverCookieDust/pseuds/SilverCookieDust'>SilverCookieDust</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Hell of a Time [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Violence (implied)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:41:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>33,915</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverCookieDust/pseuds/SilverCookieDust</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a misbrewed potion puts Harry’s sister in a coma, his whole world gets turned on its head, beginning with the startling revelation that his father isn’t who he thinks he is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Hell of a Time [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/533080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is an AU – Voldemort is dead, but not by Harry's hand, who is a perfectly normal seven year old (at least when this story begins). I will not get into the details of how Voldemort was killed, either in-fic or through author's notes or comment replies, as it is not relevant to the story I want to tell here.</p><p>Likewise, there is a character in this fic whose actions and words are shrouded in mystery if you're unfamiliar with either of my fics Butterfly Wings or For the Price of a Soul. This is intentional – the characters are left in the dark about these things too – so if you don't like everything not being neatly wrapped up when a story ends, you may want to pass this up (or read one of my other fics :p ).</p><p>Final Note: If you've read either Butterfly Wings or For the Price of a Soul, don't expect another epic length fic. This one comes in at little under 35,000, and only five chapters.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The potion was simple enough; it didn’t even need a flame, just a mix of ingredients. It was in a little book that came with a potions kit that Harry’s godmother bought him for his last birthday. The kit came with ingredients, but he’d already used most of them so he had to take them from his father’s potion cupboard. He wasn’t technically supposed to go in there, but even Calla could get past the childproof locks so Harry figured it was more of an advisory than a strict rule.</p><p>He thought the same of the warning in his recipe book that said he should always have an adult present when brewing. By his logic, the idea to make this potion was Calla’s, so <em><span>she</span></em> was the one that needed supervising, and being the older child he would fulfil that role.</p><p>As such, there was no need to disturb James, who had told them to stay out the way while he cleaned the house. A week into November, Godric’s Hollow was bathed in cold rain, so playing outside was out of the question, leading them to their current, probably forbidden activity.</p><p>The potion was supposed to make them burp bubbles. It was also supposed to be green when it was finished.</p><p>“It’s kind of green,” Calla said, standing on a chair and peering into the little cauldron set on Harry’s desk.</p><p>“I think that’s turquoise,” Harry said, prodding the potion with his glass stirring rod.</p><p>“It’s blue-green, which is a type of green,” Calla said stubbornly. “I want to try it.”</p><p>Harry hesitated. They had a few lessons on potions at school and Mr Lupin – Remus, but Harry wasn’t allowed to call him that at school – said they should never drink a potion if they weren’t certain it was exactly right. But he’d followed the instructions exactly – he’d even measured the ingredients twice to make sure the amounts were correct. Turquoise <em><span>was</span></em> close to green so hopefully it would be alright.</p><p>Calla scooped a portion into a vial and gulped down a mouthful. “Tastes like cherries,” she said, setting the vial down. Her brow furrowed and she touched her chest. Harry watched, waiting for the burp and the bubbles that would follow.</p><p>But it never came. Calla blinked a few times, rubbed at her chest, gasped weakly, and then her eyes rolled and she toppled off the chair, hitting the carpet with a light thud. Harry dropped to his knees beside her.</p><p>“Calla!”</p><p>Her lids were only half lowered, the whites of her eyes showing beneath them. He shook her, but got no response, and her lips were turning blue. His own breath hitched and he shook her harder.</p><p>“Calla!”</p><p>Still nothing.</p><p>The sound of footsteps had him scrambling to his feet and he turned to the door just as it opened and his dad looked in.</p><p>“It’s quiet up here, what are you –” James broke off with a sharp inhale as his eyes fell on Calla. In an instant he was across the room and down beside Calla, jerking his wand out and waving it over her. “What the hell did you do?”</p><p>“We were just making a potion,” Harry said.</p><p>James didn’t respond, waving his wand frantically over Calla. He muttered her name in between spells, each time more distressed. Harry watched, wringing his hands and biting his lip, knowing that the blue tinge to Calla’s skin was a bad sign.</p><p>Eventually James thrust his wand back in his pocket with a muttered, “Fuck,” then scooped her up in both arms, turning and hurrying out the room without so much as a glance at Harry. Harry followed, rushing downstairs after James, then pushing forwards when they reached the living room so he could grab the pot of floo powder off the mantelpiece, desperate to help. He threw a handful into the fireplace and green flames flared, but when he reached for James’ shirt to step through with him, James twisted away.</p><p>“You’re not coming.”</p><p>“But –”</p><p>“No!”</p><p>Harry drew back, staring up at his father wide-eyed. James often looked at him with disdain or anger; it wasn’t often he had a genuine smile for him and on the rare occasion James expressed any kind of caring, it was usually swiftly followed by a scowl, as if James was angry for being nice to Harry.</p><p>But he’d never looked at Harry with genuine hatred like he did now.</p><p>“This is your fault and you’ll bloody well stay here, d’you hear me? I don’t want you anywhere near Calla.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Harry said, but James had already stepped into the flames and vanished.</p>
<hr/><p>Harry had never been home alone before. If James went out with Calla, he would usually call one of his friends or Mary Fawcett, Harry’s godmother, to stay with Harry. At seven years old, Harry felt he was more than old enough to be left alone, but under the circumstances he wished he wasn’t. James hadn’t left him behind out of trust, he just didn’t want Harry near him.</p><p>Near Calla.</p><p>Calla was fifteen months younger than Harry, born on Hallowe’en 1981. Like him, she inherited James’ dark hair, though her’s sat wilder than his, but she’d got James’ brown eyes instead of Lily’s green. Other than the hair and eyes, everyone said Calla looked like Lily and would grow up to be beautiful.</p><p>Lily would never see it; she’d died giving birth. Sometimes, when Harry was feeling mean, he blamed Calla for their mum’s death and wished she’d died instead. But most of the time he loved his sister; he liked having a constant playmate at home, even if she was annoying sometimes, but liked that there weren’t loads of them, like the Weasleys who had seven kids.</p><p>He sat on the sofa for a while, anxiously watching the fireplace until his nerves got too much and he wandered restlessly around the house instead, stopping by the living room regularly to look for any flare of green. He thought about floo calling Mary or Mr Lupin or even Peter or Sirius, but didn’t want to have to explain what happened. Every time he remembered Calla’s blue tinted skin he felt like throwing up.</p><p>What if she died? Had Harry killed his sister? The thought made tears spring to his eyes. He never wanted her dead. He didn’t want to go to prison, either. He’d heard James and his friends talking about Azkaban, he knew it would be awful to end up there. Maybe he would deserve it if he had killed Calla, but he still didn’t want to, so he just hoped and hoped that she was going to be okay.</p><p>Hours later – it felt like days – he finally heard the floo. He was in the bathroom and hurried out without washing his hands, rushing downstairs to the living room. James stood in front of the fireplace and when his gaze fell on Harry his expression became one like Harry had never seen before. If the look he gave Harry before was hatred, it was pure loathing now.</p><p>Harry stopped in the doorway, not daring to get any closer. He swallowed thickly and, dreading the answer, asked, “Is Calla okay?”</p><p>James didn’t answer immediately, just stared at him as if Harry was a particularly nasty potion ingredient. He looked like he was trying to decide something, like he did when he caught Harry doing something he shouldn’t and was choosing how to punish him.</p><p>When he finally spoke, he said nothing of Calla. “Put your shoes and coat on.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>James finally moved, grabbing Harry’s shoulder, twisting him about and pushing him towards the coat cupboard in the hallway. “Shoes and coat. Now.”</p><p>“Why? Are we going to see Calla?”</p><p>“No!” James’ voice was harsh. “You’re never seeing Calla again, just do as you’re told!”</p><p>He left Harry by the cupboard and went upstairs. Harry took out his coat and shoes, sitting to pull them on and listening to James move about upstairs. His hands shook as he tied his laces. <em><span>You’re never seeing Calla again…</span></em> she was dead, that had to be it. Now James was going to take Harry to the Aurors and they’d throw him in Azkaban for the rest of his life where the Dementors would eat his soul.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he blurted out when James came back down, blinking back tears and wringing his hands. “Please don’t send me to Azkaban, I didn’t mean to kill her, it was an accident.”</p><p>James said nothing. He had a suitcase – Harry had no idea why – and he held it in one hand while his other grabbed Harry tightly by the arm.</p><p>“What –” Harry began, and then the world pressed in on him, darkness squeezing in from all sides, suffocating him for a second or two before it fell away.</p><p>He groaned and clutched his stomach, but it was only a passing nausea and as he got a hold of himself he realised they were no longer at home. Instead the sun was setting on a familiar, narrow, one-way street, a row of terraced houses on either side of the road. They were white-washed and looked nice, but only because some minor member of the Muggle royal family passed through last month. Before that, the houses showed their dirty, old facades, and the road had been full of potholes.</p><p>“What are we doing here?” Harry asked, but James just jerked him towards one of the houses, banging his fist against the door. The blue paint was already scratched; it looked as if someone had kicked the bottom of the door.</p><p>At James’ knock, someone inside the house yelled. Another voice yelled back, and then stomping footsteps before the front door was yanked open. A tired, irritated woman looked out, her brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and her robes were splashed slightly with water. Mary Fawcett – Harry’s godmother.</p><p>“Oh, James, Harry,” she greeted wearily. “Look, this isn’t a great time for a visit.”</p><p>James dropped the suitcase down by her door. “Calla’s in a coma,” he said bluntly. “Harry poisoned her. I need you to take him.”</p><p>Mary’s hands rose to her mouth, eyes widening</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I need to get back to the hospital. He’s all yours.”</p><p>He turned and started to walk away.</p><p>“James, wait!” Mary called, stepping out onto the pavement. “When are you picking him up again?”</p><p>James stopped and looked back, never once glancing down at Harry. “Never.”</p><p>“What do you mean never?”</p><p>“The little bastard poisoned my daughter, Mary. I kept him all this time because Lily asked me to, but I’m not putting up with him anymore. You’re his godmother, you can raise him.”</p><p>Harry stared at James, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. He always knew James didn’t love him, but he’d never thought he’d abandon him.</p><p>Mary looked as stunned as Harry felt. “James, you can’t be serious.”</p><p>James turned fully, face twisting with anger. “I’m perfectly serious. I want nothing to do with him anymore. You’re his godmother, but if you don’t want to deal with him then send him to Snape.”</p><p>“You’ve got to be joking!”</p><p>James shrugged, turned away. “I really don’t care what you do. He’s not my responsibility anymore,” he said, and Apparated away.</p>
<hr/><p>Mary and her husband David argued a lot. When they weren’t arguing, they were ignoring each other. Harry heard other adults wondering why they didn’t get divorced, but never heard a reason why.</p><p>They had a daughter, Sonya, who was a couple of years older than Harry. That evening, Harry lay on her floor in a sleeping bag, listening to Mary and David yell at each other. He always felt awkward hearing them fight, but it was much worse when they were fighting about him.</p><p>“Dad’s gonna win,” Sonya whispered from her bed. The Fawcetts only had two bedrooms. “We don’t have enough space or money for you to live with us.”</p><p>Harry said nothing, just pulled the sleeping bag over his head. He knew he couldn’t stay there, but it was just one of many worries for him right then. He was still worried about Calla – Mary had explained what a coma was – he felt sick and miserable over James abandoning him, and he was still confused about the things James said on the street. Mary hadn’t explained it yet, hadn’t said who Snape was, but Harry didn’t like the name and he didn’t want to get left with whoever it was.</p><p>He slept poorly that night, tossing and turning, and when he finally nodded off his dreams were haunted by Calla. He kept going from place to place – school, Godric’s Hollow, Diagon Alley, the Fawcetts’ house – and every time Calla would be there, blue-lipped and staring accusingly at him.</p><p>He picked at his eggs and toast the next morning, and the first thing he asked Mary was, “Can I see Calla?”</p><p>Mary sighed. Her fingers, permanently ink-stained from her job as a clerk for the Ministry, picked up the milk bottle Sonya left on the table and returned it to the fridge. Mary was Muggleborn and didn’t trust cooling cabinets to do a proper job of keeping things fresh.</p><p>“Not today. I’ve got to work and David’s already gone. You’ll have to spend the day with Sonya’s grandma.”</p><p>“Harry’s not going to live with us now, is he?” Sonya said around a mouthful of Pixie Puffs.</p><p>Mary sighed again, much heavier this time. “I don’t know, Sonya. Finish your breakfast, we need to get to Gran’s or I’m going to be late.”</p><p>“Can I see Calla after you finish work?” Harry asked.</p><p>“I don’t know, sweetie. We’ll see.”</p><p>Grandma Fawcett lived in a cottage in Hogsmeade. It smelt like mould, and the sandwiches she made them for lunch were served on stale bread. Sonya had a few toys there, but even if they’d been of interest to Harry, he had no inclination to play with anything. It was hard to be interested in playing when he was worried about Calla, and about his own future.</p><p>He only had to stay with Grandma Fawcett that one Saturday. Mary didn’t work Sundays, although David did, and the next week was spent at school. He never got to see Calla in that time; James had made an approved list of visitors at St Mungo’s and neither Harry nor Mary were on it.</p><p>James had started the Lily Daycare and Primary School for Young Witches and Wizards, although he didn’t teach there. That task went mostly to Remus Lupin, who taught the older kids while Molly Weasley looked after the younger ones. Her children made up a quarter of the school’s student count.</p><p>Harry normally loved school, but he couldn’t when Calla’s absence was like a stab to the gut. He asked Mr Lupin for information about Calla every day, but nothing changed. She remained comatose, getting no worse but no better, either. They didn’t know exactly why she’d reacted this way to the potion, so they couldn’t figure out how to cure her.</p><p>On Friday, Mary picked up him and Sonya at five o’clock, as always, and said she’d take them to McDonald’s for dinner. It was an unusual treat for them; the Fawcetts were too poor to eat out often and James never took Harry and Calla to Muggle restaurants.</p><p>“What’s this for?” Sonya asked her mother as they waited at the till for their meals.</p><p>“No particular reason,” Mary answered, but there was Harry found out when they returned to the Fawcetts’ house. Mary sent Sonya into the garden and sat Harry down in the living room. She had a sad, apologetic look on her face as she looked at him, and her tone was just the same.</p><p>“Harry… sweetie…” She trailed off, tried again, trailed off once more, and finally sighed. Harry took pity on her.</p><p>“Am I leaving now?” he asked. He’d known it was coming, that he couldn’t stay with his godmother forever.</p><p>Mary sighed again. “Yes. I’m sorry, you know I would love to let you stay with me forever, but we just don’t have the space or money.”</p><p>“I know,” Harry said, trying not to sound resentful. “Where am I going? Did Dad say I can come back?”</p><p>He couldn’t hide his hope that James had, nor his disappointment when Mary shook her head.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Harry. The thing is…” She stopped, seemed to struggle for a moment, then asked, “You know how babies are made, right?”</p><p>Baffled, Harry nodded. The mother of Hannah Abbot, one of his classmates, got pregnant last year so Mrs Weasley had explained the basics of sex to everyone. For weeks afterwards ‘sex’ had been the hot word among the students, whispered and giggled over and shouted in the middle of math lessons just to get a reaction.</p><p>“Okay. Good. Um… do you understand that sometimes a baby is made between two people who aren’t married?”</p><p>Harry’s brow furrowed. “Mrs Weasley said only a husband and wife make a baby.”</p><p>“No, it can be any man and any woman.”</p><p>“Oh. Why are you telling me this?”</p><p>Mary looked down at her hands, picking at her nails. “Sometimes, even when a woman is married, she makes a baby with someone else.” She pulled off a bit of nail, dropped it to the floor, and looked at Harry again. “Your mum did that.”</p><p>“She made a baby with someone else? Not Dad?”</p><p>“Yes,” Mary said softly.</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“A man called Severus Snape. He went to school with us.”</p><p>“Where’s the baby?” Harry asked, then: “Wait, they can’t be a baby anymore, can they? They’re a kid. Are they older than me? Do they go to my school or to Hogwarts?”</p><p>Mary was looking at him even more sadly now. “Harry, sweetie… you’re the baby.”</p><p>Harry stared at her. For a moment he could say nothing, his mind reeling at the very suggestion, and when he could finally speak he blurted out, “But Dad is my dad.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, but he’s not, Severus Snape is. I know this is difficult –”</p><p>“But I’ve never even heard of Severus Snape! How can he be my dad?”</p><p>“I told you, sometimes a woman makes a baby with someone who isn’t her husband.”</p><p>“But if that man’s my dad, why did I grow up with Dad? Why didn’t I grow up with Mr Snape? Why isn’t <em><span>my</span></em> name Snape?”</p><p>Mary shook her head. “Your mum and da- and James loved each other. When your mum… ah… when she… with Snape…”</p><p>“When she had sex with him?” Harry said, and didn’t even feel the usual urge to giggle guiltily at saying a naughty word.</p><p>“Yes. When she did that, it was a mis- I mean, it didn’t stop her loving James. She didn’t love Snape and she didn’t want to leave James.”</p><p>“But then why did she make a baby with Snape?”</p><p>“She didn’t mean to. Sometimes adults have sex for other reasons, and making a baby is an accident.”</p><p>Part of Harry wanted to know what the other reasons could possibly be – personally he thought putting his willy in a girl’s privates was far too gross, whatever the reason – but he had a far more pressing question.</p><p>“That means I was an accident? My mum didn’t want me?”</p><p>He heard his voice wobble with the threat of tears, but couldn’t help it. He’d always known his dad didn’t love him as much as Calla; it would break his heart to hear that his mum hadn’t loved him either.</p><p>But Mary grabbed his hands, leaning forwards to look at him intently, her voice firm and sincere. “No. Your mother loved you with all her heart. You were an accident, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t want you. Don’t <em><span>ever</span></em> think your mum didn’t love you; she absolutely did.”</p><p>Harry nodded, swallowing thickly. “So… so Dad… James… really isn’t my real dad? Mr Snape is?”</p><p>“Yes,” Mary said, squeezing his hands.</p><p>He nodded again. Now that the idea had time to penetrate, he actually didn’t find it that hard to believe. It certainly explained why James never loved him as much as –</p><p>“What about Calla?” he asked suddenly. “Is James not her dad?”</p><p>“No, he is.”</p><p>“But my mum is her mum, too, right? So she’s still my sister?”</p><p>“Yes, she’s your half-sister.”</p><p>“Okay.” He was glad for that. He didn’t want to lose Calla as a sister, even if he wasn’t allowed to see her ever again. Hopefully he could when she woke up from her coma.</p><p>Mary squeezed his hands again. “Harry, I’m telling you this now because…” she took a deep breath “… because you’re going to have to live with him. With your real dad.”</p><p>Harry nodded – that wasn’t a surprise to hear given how the conversation began – but he frowned. “Why didn’t I live with him before? Did he not want me?”</p><p>Mary shook her head. “He didn’t know about you. Your mum didn’t tell him she was pregnant, and she and your – and James decided to raise you themselves, and James kept you after your mum died.”</p><p>“Until now.”</p><p>She said nothing to that, just gave him a sad look.</p><p>Harry took a deep breath, trying to be brave. “When am I leaving?”</p><p>“I’m going to take you to see him tomorrow.”</p><p>“What if he doesn’t like me?”</p><p>Mary smiled at that. “Of course he’ll like you. You’ve very likable.”</p><p>Harry couldn’t bring himself to point out that James didn’t like him. He might be coming to terms with the idea James wasn’t his dad, but it still hurt to know he didn’t love him.</p><p>“What if I don’t like him?”</p><p>Mary’s mouth tightened at that. “If things really don’t work out, then we’ll find you somewhere else to live. But, Harry, it might take a little while to figure out. Like how you don’t always get on with the new students at school straight away.”</p><p>Harry wrinkled his nose. Mary smiled thinly.</p><p>“I’m just saying to give him a chance. He doesn’t have any other children so he’ll be learning how to be a dad while you get to know each other.”</p><p>Harry nodded a touch reluctantly. He understood what she was saying, and part of him looked forward to it – a real dad would love him, he hoped – but he also just wanted things to go back to the way they’d been before. He wanted his sister healthy and happy, back at Godric’s Hollow, the two of them squabbling over who got to play on the swing.</p><p>“Will I still get to see you when I live with Mr… with my dad?”</p><p>Mary let go of his hands to cup his face. “Of course you will. I’m still your godmother, I always will be. You can still visit and I’ll come check on you, to see how you’re doing. I love you, Harry. You can always count on me.”</p><p>Harry lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug. She made an ‘oof’ at the impact, but laughed and returned it.</p><p>For the first time since the accident, Harry didn’t dream of Calla. He stayed up late imagining what Severus Snape looked like, what kind of person he was, what kind of dad he would be. Would he be the sort who let Harry have biscuits before dinner, or the kind to make him eat all his vegetables, even the ones he didn’t like? Would he take Harry to the zoo and play catch with him and teach him to fly, or would he be one of those boring dads that never took him anywhere and left him to entertain himself?</p><p>Did he look like Harry?</p><p>His hopeful fantasies turned to worries later in the night – what if Snape didn’t like him? What if he was a bully? – and by breakfast he was too nervous to eat more than a few mouthfuls of cereal.</p><p>He took only an overnight bag with him when Mary Apparated him to Snape’s. Mary said they would see how they got along, and she’d bring more of his stuff later if things went okay; most of his stuff was still at Godric’s Hollow anyway. Harry hoped they got along well; the only other family he knew of was his mum’s Muggle sister. James never spoke well of her and Harry didn’t fancy living with Muggles.</p><p>His first impressions weren’t good. Snape lived in a place called Cokeworth; the river they appeared next to was dirty, the skyline was miserable, and the street they eventually walked to was in even worse condition than the Fawcetts’ had been before it was refurbished. The road was half-made of potholes, the row of houses on each side of the street were soot-blackened, and all of them appeared to be empty. Even the street sign was worn, reading SP N RS E D.</p><p>Harry, clinging to Mary’s hand, had no idea how she knew which house to go to, as none of them had numbers on, but she led him straight to a door four from the end, knocking heavily. Several long seconds passed, then the door opened and Harry got his first look at Severus Snape – at his real father.</p><p>He didn’t look like Harry, except for having the same coloured hair. Snape’s hung to the shoulders, greasy-looking; he had a large hooked nose that Harry was glad not to have got; he wasn’t as tall as James, but he wasn’t short either. His eyes were dark as tunnels, and they flicked briefly over Mary before dropping to stare at Harry.</p><p>“Morning, Snape,” Mary greeted in the same tight tone she used with her husband when they were between fights. “This is Harry. Harry, this is Severus Snape – your dad.”</p><p>Snape’s dark eyes snapped up from Harry to Mary. “Supposedly,” he said sharply. Harry didn’t like to imagine getting scolded by that voice. “I’ve already told you I won’t agree to even discuss anything until I’ve done a paternity test.”</p><p>Harry looked up at Mary. “What kind of test?”</p><p>She squeezed his hand. “It’s alright, it’s just to prove that you’re really his son. You need to put a bit of blood in a potion, but only a little bit, it won’t hurt more than a prick.”</p><p>Wary, Harry nonetheless nodded. He’d like proof that this man was his father; he still had his own doubts, or maybe it was wishful thinking. He still hadn’t fully accepted being abandoned by James.</p><p>They entered the house. Harry expected it to be small and cramped like the Fawcetts’, but while the living room wasn’t large, it was sparsely decorated to keep it spacious. There was a leather sofa and armchair, a metal and glass coffee table, a closed wooden cabinet, a writing desk, and a single bookcase. Two doors led out the room, other than the front door, both currently closed.</p><p> A potion vial rested on the coffee table, half full of a clear liquid, along with a scalpel. Snape picked up the scalpel and jabbed his thumb with it, then picked up the vial and opened it, squeezing his thumb over the top and letting three droplets of blood fall into it.</p><p>“Give me your hand, child,” he said to Harry. Harry looked to Mary first and only held out his hand when she nodded. Snape jabbed him with the scalpel, Harry hissed painfully, but didn’t pull away, letting Snape hold his hand over the vial.</p><p>Once three drops of his own blood spilled out, Snape let go and Harry stuck his finger in his mouth, watching as Snape gently swirled the vial and the blood mingled with the potion, turning the whole thing the colour and consistency of blood.</p><p>“Shit,” Snape breathed, putting the vial down and sitting heavily in the armchair.</p><p>“Language!” Mary scolded, just like she always did when an adult swore around kids. Snape shot her a dark looked and Harry removed his finger from his mouth with a pop.</p><p>“Does that mean it’s true? You’re really my dad?”</p><p>Snape glanced between him and the vial, nodding. He looked Harry over again, more intently now, and his gaze lingered on Harry’s face for a while. He strict expression softened slightly as he did so.</p><p>“You have Lily’s eyes.”</p><p>“I know.” It was what new people always commented on and Harry found it a bit annoying, but he supposed this man – his father – had the right to. Once, anyway.</p><p>“There’s something of my mother in you,” Snape murmured, “but you seem to have got lucky otherwise. Avoided inheriting my nose.”</p><p>“Thankfully,” Harry said, eying Snape’s large nose. Snape raised his eyebrow and Harry said defensively, “You said it first.”</p><p>Snape looked like the kind of man who’d get angry at backtalk like that, but all he said was, “Definitely Lily’s boy.”</p><p>Mary, Harry noticed, relaxed slightly at that. She cleared her throat. “So you’ll take him?”</p><p>Snape dragged his gaze away from Harry. “I’m certainly not giving him back to Potter.”</p><p>“Dad – I mean, James doesn’t want me anymore anyway,” Harry said. “He hates me.”</p><p>He’d never said that before, never even let himself think something that severe, and he wasn’t sure exactly why he said it.</p><p>“Of course he does,” Snape sneered, and Harry’s breath hitched. Snape thought he was unlikeable?</p><p>But then he went on, “He could never like <em><span>my</span></em> son.”</p><p>He looked a bit startled after saying it, like he never expected to hear those words from his own mouth.</p><p>“It wasn’t like that,” Mary said. Snape scoffed. “James cared for him,” Mary insisted. “He never mistreated Harry. It’s only after the accident –”</p><p>“Tell me more about this accident,” Snape interrupted. “You mentioned something about a girl being comatose?”</p><p>“Calla,” Harry said. “My sister. We made a potion, but we did it wrong and now she’s in a coma and she might never wake up.”</p><p>“What potion were you brewing?”</p><p>“One to make us burp bubbles.”</p><p>Snape frowned, tapped a finger thoughtfully against him mouth, then shook his head. “Nothing in that would cause a coma, not even in incorrect amounts.”</p><p>Harry looked at Mary, who said, “They probably used a wrong ingredient.”</p><p>“I followed the instructions,” Harry said a little sulkily. “And I checked all the labels on the jars.”</p><p>“It’s not your fault,” Mary assured him. “Accidents happen. That’s why you don’t brew potions without an adult.”</p><p>“I know,” Harry muttered miserably.</p><p>Mary gave him a reassuring smile, then looked to Snape. “Do you have a room ready for him?”</p><p>Snape turned his searching gaze away from Harry. “I have a guest room.”</p><p>Mary’s eyebrows rose. “A guest room?”</p><p>“<em><span>You</span></em> were the one who wanted to know how we got on before you agreed to leave him here permanently. I’ve no intention of redecorating for what might be a temporary stay.”</p><p>“But there’s nowhere else for me to go,” Harry pointed out.</p><p>“There won’t be any need for you to go anywhere,” Snape said. “You’re my son. You’re staying with me.”</p><p>He looked less awkward about saying ‘my son’ this time. Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about him yet, but he appreciated that at least Snape wanted him.</p>
<hr/><p>Snape wasn’t so bad. They spent the morning at a local Muggle playpark, where Snape looked terribly uncomfortable around the handful of other parents but still pushed Harry on the swing. They spoke, getting to know each other a little. Snape worked from home brewing potions for apothecaries and individuals; he didn’t have a spouse, or girlfriend or boyfriend, and the only other child he dealt with was a boy called Draco Malfoy, the son of friends. Harry was a little disheartened to hear he only had one neighbour, a wizard named Nemo, and that to the best of Snape’s knowledge everyone else in Cokeworth town was a Muggle.</p><p>“You should avoid Nemo at all costs,” he also warned Harry, seemingly as an afterthought.</p><p>“Why? Is he dangerous?”</p><p>“Possibly. He’s certainly not a good person to be around,” Snape told him, but wouldn’t explain why.</p><p>They returned to Snape’s house for lunch, and then he showed Harry around. The house was actually four knocked together; from the street, it was impossible to tell, and the extra front doors didn’t actually work. Looking out from the windows, however, one could see the difference, and the gardens were all combined together.</p><p>“You’ll fence off that section,” Mary said when Snape showed them it, frowning at the greenhouse at one end of the garden, and patches of plantbeds around it.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Children like to play in gardens, Severus,” she said, and Harry could hear the silent ‘duh’ on the end. “Half of those plants are poisonous.”</p><p>“Hmm,” Snape said, which Harry couldn’t interpret. Silently he promised himself he wouldn’t go anywhere near the greenhouse, fenced off or not. He had no desire to get poisoned.</p><p>Inside, the living room was at the centre of the house; on one side was the kitchen and a dining room, and above them were two bedrooms and a bathroom. The guest room where Harry would be staying was currently undecorated, the bedding plain and boring on a large adult-sized bed, but when they looked in Snape said, “I suppose we can redecorate it for you.”</p><p>He didn’t sound very keen on the idea, but Harry certainly wanted a bedroom much cooler than this.</p><p>The house on the other side of the living room, accessed through a door behind the bookshelf in the living room, had been completely emptied of its interior and turned into a single room. All four walls were covered with bookcases from floor to roof, each one packed to bursting, and Harry gaped at them, wondering who on earth needed that many books. A desk sat in the centre of the room, more books piled on it amidst rolls of parchment, inkwells, and quills.</p><p>“You will not come in here without permission,” Snape told him, folding his arms over his chest and looking sternly at Harry. “You absolutely will not touch any of these books.”</p><p>Harry nodded. All the books looked boring anyway.</p><p>“What about your lab?” Harry asked as Snape shooed him and Mary back into the living room. “Where’s that?”</p><p>“The other side of the library,” Snape said. “You will never go in there. It is not for children.”</p><p>Mary nodded approvingly, and Harry refrained from pointing out that James let him go in his potions shed. Given how that turned out, it wasn’t much of an argument in his favour.</p><p>He’d brought his colouring book and pencils with him for the night, and he settled down with that for the next hour while Mary and Snape spoke – or rather, Snape asked Mary various questions regarding childcare.</p><p>Eventually, Mary came over to crouch by Harry and he looked up from colouring in a hippogriff.</p><p>“I’m off now, Harry, but I’ll be around tomorrow to check on you, alright?”</p><p>He nodded, biting his lip against the urge to ask her to stay. Snape seemed okay, but he was still essentially a stranger and Harry was wary to stay with him. But he knew he had to get used to it; there was nowhere else for him to go, and this man was his dad.</p><p>“Okay,” Mary said, and kissed his forehead. “Be good then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”</p><p>He watched her leave, and the house felt significantly quieter and eerier with her gone. When the door shut behind her, Snape turned and looked at Harry, who looked back. Neither spoke for a moment; Harry didn’t know what he was supposed to say, if anything.</p><p>Snape cleared his throat. “I need to write a letter.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>There was a pause. Snape frowned, then stalked to the bookshelf without another word, tapping it with his wand to make it swing open to the library. He looked once more at Harry, went through, and shut it behind him.</p><p>Harry looked around him, felt the silence pressing in around him. The house, despite being built into several buildings, wasn’t actually that big, but it felt like it gaped above him now, an empty, lonely building. He recalled those times at home when Calla was bugging him and he wished she didn’t exist, and the times at the Fawcetts’ when he despaired at the noisy, cramped house.</p><p>Now, keenly aware of how alone he was in this house that wasn’t a home, with a dad who wasn’t a dad, he wished more than ever that his sister was with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Brief warning I forgot to tag before: this chapter mentions illegal drug use.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Severus wrote two letters that afternoon. He had two owls, one for business and one for personal use. The latter was a tiny little thing that even Severus realised would be called cute by certain persons; it’d been a mocking gift from Lucius, and Severus had named it Little Bastard. His business owl had no name, but she was fast and unremarkable, which was all that mattered.</p><p>He used the business owl to send a letter to a contact at Saint Mungo’s who owed him a favour, requesting a portion of the potion that poisoned Calla Potter. The St Mungo’s diagnostics team was good, but apparently not good enough to figure out how such a simple potion could put a six year old girl in a coma. Severus didn’t particularly care about the girl personally, but he was curious about the potion, and curious to see how well Harry – his son – had brewed it.</p><p>Merlin’s beard, his <em>son</em>. It would take a while to get used to that. How could Lily not have –</p><p>He broke that train of thought. He’d deal with that later.</p><p>His second letter he sent with Little Bastard to Regulus Black, asking for a speedy meeting at the Ministry of Magic. He’d tutored Regulus at potions in Hogwarts, they’d worked together under the Dark Lord once or twice, and now Severus provided Regulus with the occasional illicit potion while Regulus kept him appraised of any Ministry crackdowns on illegal potion dealing. Somewhere along the way they ended up actual friends.</p><p>While he waited for Regulus’ response, an echoing knock rang through the library. That echo meant someone was knocking at the door of his potions’ lab, and he scowled. He delivered to the apothecaries and the dealer he supplied for, and all his legal personal customers only came at scheduled times, which meant it could be only one other person.</p><p>He left his desk and tapped his wand to the bookcase which swung open to give access to the lab. Like the library, the lab was fashioned into a single house from which he’d knocked out most of the inner walls. He’d kept up a few half-walls to separate brewing areas, and had an enclosed balcony room where he brewed the illegal potions.</p><p>It occurred to him that, as a father, he probably shouldn’t be brewing and selling illegal potions, but he wasn’t going to stop. Children were expensive; the illicit parts of his business brought more income than the legal side, and he had absolutely no desire to get some second and extremely boring job doing something else.</p><p>The echoing knock sounded again, and Severus swept around his workstations to the external door which opened onto the street. As expected, a raggedly-dressed man leant against the frame outside, dark hair even greasier and longer than Severus’, tatty and knotted with filth. His Muggle clothes were over-sized and unwashed, and his pale face was gaunt and haggard, a look not much improved by his yellow-toothed grin.</p><p>“Hi, Sev…erus.”</p><p>The last part was added on hastily when Severus’ eyes narrowed at the nickname.</p><p>“Nemo,” Severus greeted shortly. Across the street, Nemo’s front door sat open, but it wasn’t like there was anyone here who would rob it. Severus doubted Nemo even had anything <em>to</em> rob. It wasn’t that he had no money – quite the opposite – but he didn’t seem to care about anything that didn’t come out of a potion vial or a hypodermic needle.</p><p>Severus despised the man. He was a filthy drug addict who occasionally passed out in the middle of the street, or came banging on Severus’ door singing off-tune Christmas carols when he was pumped full of uppers. Unfortunately, he was also Severus’ best source of income. For the benefit of getting potions direct from the brewer, Nemo paid twice what a dealer did, and purchased enough to medicate a small hospital. Severus still hadn’t figured out how the man wasn’t dead, especially as he took as many Muggle drugs as he did magical.</p><p>“Sev-e-rus,” Nemo said again, this time in a sing-song voice, “Severus, I got the shakes. Look.” He thrust his hand out, making Severus rear back to avoid getting smacked in the nose. “I could cause an earthquake. You got anything to help?”</p><p>“Perhaps a dose of poison?”</p><p>Nemo leant his head against the door frame, grin widening. “You’re funny. C’mon, I got money.”</p><p>“You always do. Is it at least wizarding money this time?”</p><p>Nemo scrunched his nose and dug a hand in his pocket, pulling out a fistful of coins. He peered at them, then held them out to Severus, the metal tinkling as his hand shook.</p><p>“That’s wizardly, innit?”</p><p>Mostly. Severus could see a couple of fifty pence pieces and a pound coin amidst the galleons and sickles. He took the lot, suppressing a shudder when his fingers brushed against Nemo’s filthy palm, and as always didn’t wonder where the money came from. Nemo didn’t work and Severus was almost entirely certain that he wasn’t dealing any of the potions that he bought from Severus. As such, wherever the money did come from, Severus probably didn’t want to know.</p><p>“Wait there,” he said, and shut the door in Nemo’s face.</p><p>He considered giving the man a standard anti-anxiety draught, which would stop his shakes but give him no high, but the amount of money Severus took from him was actually quite a bit so he fetched a sedative that’d send the man to sleep with a smile on his face.</p><p>When he returned to the door, Nemo was sat on the floor beside it, legs crossed, hand out in front of him and a small unicorn made of sparkles prancing over his palm. Opposite him, Harry was crouched with a delighted look on his face as he watched the unicorn.</p><p>Severus grabbed Nemo by the shoulder, wrenched him up with a ripping sound of fabric tearing, and shoved him across the street. “Stay the fuck away from my son.”</p><p>Nemo staggered, nearly fell, managed to catch himself. He nodded, gaze fixed on the vial in Severus’ other hand. Severus was tempted to deny him it, but he knew Nemo could get nasty with that and refusing him drugs wouldn’t keep him away from Harry. But –</p><p>“Say it,” he demanded, pulling the vial away when Nemo reached for it. “Swear you’ll stay away from him.”</p><p>Nemo’s dull green eyes flicked briefly to Severus’ face. “I won’t go near the kid, swear on my life, gimme the potion.”</p><p>Severus snorted at the promise – what worth was this man’s life? – but gave him the potion. Without so much as a thanks, Nemo wrenched the cork out and downed a large mouthful, then turned and staggered to the house across the street. Severus didn’t watch him, but turned to Harry, who’d straightened up and was now staring at Severus.</p><p>“I told you to stay away from him,” Severus snapped. “What are you even doing outside?”</p><p>Instead of answer, Harry replied in a tone of awe, “You said a bad word.”</p><p>Severus blinked, then realised what the boy was talking about. Swearing in front of one’s children was probably frowned upon, wasn’t it? Tobias Snape had never censored himself and he was an example Severus certainly didn’t want to emulate.</p><p>“That’s besides the point,” he said, shutting the door to the lab and taking Harry’s arm, tugging him down the street to his main front door. “Stay away from that man.”</p><p>“Why? He made a cool unicorn, did you see it? Can you do that?”</p><p>“He’s unsafe to be around,” Snape said, pushing Harry back into the living room and following.</p><p>Harry stopped in the middle of the room, looking up at him. “Is that why you gave him a potion, to make him more safe?”</p><p>He asked it with such earnestness, an expression on his face like he cared whether or not Nemo was safe. What the hell had Potter been teaching this child to leave him so concerned as to the welfare of a complete stranger?</p><p>Except that wasn’t Potter. Staring at Harry’s earnest face, at the curiosity in his green eyes, Severus had to admit that caring for others was Lily through and through. She’d stand up for anyone until they gave her a reason not to – <em>(he tries not to think about the reason he gave her)</em> – and apparently it was something she’d passed on to her son.</p><p><em>Their</em> son.</p><p>Good Merlin, he still couldn’t get over that.</p><p>In Lily, it was a trait he both admired and hated, but right now he was just glad that James Potter hadn’t managed to squash this bit of Lily out of the child. He only hoped there were other traits Harry inherited that hadn’t been pushed out by seven years of being raised as a Potter.</p><p>And if Harry had learnt any Potter mannerisms, Severus would soon teach him out of <em>them</em>.</p><p>Harry was still waiting for an answer, so Severus nodded tersely. It wasn’t really a lie; giving Nemo a sedative certainly made him safer than some of the other drugs Severus gave him.</p><p>To his surprise, Harry beamed at him. “That’s nice,” he said, and then his smile faded and his shoulders drooped, chin dropping to his chest and eyes to the carpet. “That’s nicer than me,” he muttered. “My potion didn’t help Calla.”</p><p>Severus scowled. “That wasn’t your fault.”</p><p>“But I made the potion.”</p><p>“Did you poison her on purpose?”</p><p>Harry’s head jerked up, mouth dropping open, eyes wide. “No! I’d never do that!”</p><p>“Then it wasn’t your fault.”</p><p>“Dad – I mean, James said it was,” Harry said, and Severus’ scowled deepened.</p><p>“Potter is an idiot and a liar. If he didn’t want his child getting poisoned, he shouldn’t have let you have access to his potion store. Any imbecile knows that.”</p><p>Harry didn’t look encouraged by this, but Severus didn’t ask why. There was a tapping at the window and he looked over to see Little Bastard hovering outside, a letter attached to his leg.</p><p>“Is that your owl?” Harry asked as Severus let the bird in.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“What’s his name?”</p><p>“Little Bas–” Severus broke off.</p><p>“Hi, Little Bas. Can I stroke him?”</p><p>“If you must,” Severus said absently, taking the letter and slitting it open. He smiled grimly at the contents. Regulus came through; he got Severus an appointment for four o’clock with the Department of Family and Child Services. He checked his watch; an hour and a half. Enough time for a visit to the Malfoys.</p><p>They were the only people he called friends that had a child, and he desperately needed parenting advice right then. Fawcett provided some helpful information, but she was a Muggleborn. Severus wanted the opinions of some pureblood parents.</p><p>His first thought was to leave Harry behind, but realised that probably wasn’t appropriate, and depending on how long he visited Wiltshire he might go straight the Ministry of Magic afterwards.</p><p>He got Harry into shoes and cloak – he’d gone into the street without even those, idiot child – then took him out and down to the riverside where the apparition point was. His fireplace was too small to floo from even if it had been connected to the network; the Anti-Apparition spells were his own doing, and he had ones that would alert him at home if anyone were to Apparate into the area. One could never be too careful when they dealt in illegal potions.</p><p>Only when he started to Disapparate did he think to wonder if Harry had ever been taken on Side-Along Apparition before, and when they reappeared finished the thought that he hoped Harry wouldn’t throw up.</p><p>The boy didn’t disappoint. He pulled a distasteful face at the method of transport, but didn’t vomit or show any sign that it was unfamiliar to him. He did, however, gape stupidly at Malfoy Manor as they passed through the wrought-iron gates and headed up the driveway.</p><p>“Shut your mouth, child,” Severus chided. “You’ll catch flies.”</p><p>Harry’s mouth snapped shut with a click of his teeth, but his wondrous gaze didn’t leave the manor. “It’s so <em>big</em>.”</p><p>“Excessively so,” Severus agreed. Harry’s brow furrowed in confusion, but before he could say what confused him – were four-syllable words too much for seven year olds? – a peacock burst out of one of the hedges. Harry jumped and grabbed at Severus’ robe.</p><p>Severus scowled down at him. “It’s just a peacock, boy. It won’t hurt you.”</p><p>Harry let go, flushing. “I know that.”</p><p>At the house, the large front doors opened by themselves into a hallway lined with portraits. Severus was used to the foreboding glare of the Malfoy ancestors, but Harry appeared put out by all the eyes, walking so close to Severus that he almost tripped on his robes.</p><p>In the drawing room at the end, Narcissa greeted them with a smile. “Severus, it’s good to see you.”</p><p>“Narcissa.”</p><p>Lucius didn’t rise from his chair by the fireplace, but he lowered his newspaper and gave a nod of greeting to Severus, then raised an eyebrow questioningly at Harry. Narcissa, too, looked down at him.</p><p>“Who’s this young man?” Narcissa asked.</p><p>Severus glanced down at Harry, patted his shoulder awkwardly once, then dropped his hand again and cleared his throat. “This is, uh… this is Harry. He’s my… my son.”</p><p>Clear surprise flashed across Narcissa’s face. Lucius put aside his newspaper. “This is quite the surprise, Severus,” he said. “All these years and we only just now learn you have a son?”</p><p>Severus didn’t respond to that just yet. “Where’s Draco? I need to speak with you both. Can we send the children somewhere?”</p><p>The Malfoys exchanged looks then Narcissa gestured for Harry and Severus to enter.</p><p>“Dobby!” Lucius called, and Harry jumped as the house-elf appeared. He tugged on Severus’ robes. “Is that a house elf?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Dobby, take young Harry to Draco’s playroom,” Lucius ordered.</p><p>“Yes, master,” the elf agreed, bowing low then turning to Harry. “This way, Mister Harry.”</p><p>Harry looked up at Severus, who scowled and gave him a nudge. “Go.”</p><p>Apprehensively, Harry went.</p><p>Narcissa offered Severus a chair and a drink, and once he was settled with a glass of whiskey – damn the time of day, he needed it – then he explained the situation to them.</p><p>“This is quite the turn up for the books, Severus,” Lucius said after, making no effort to hide his amusement. “I remember you having a twisted little obsession with that Mudblood –”</p><p>“Don’t call her that!”</p><p>Lucius continued without acknowledging him. “– but to think you actually screwed the girl…”</p><p>“Lucius.”</p><p>Lucius glanced at Narcissa. “My apologies, darling. But it’s not like he made love to the bitch.”</p><p>“Shut up, Lucius,” Severus snapped, earning a raised-eyebrow look from the other man. “Whatever her parentage, I loved Lily and she was my – my son’s mother.”</p><p>“You degrade yourself by saying that, Severus.”</p><p>“I’m only a half-blood myself, Lucius. Hardly spoiling myself with a Muggleborn witch,” Severus remarked.</p><p>“You’re certain this boy is your son?” Narcissa asked, setting aside her teacup.</p><p>“I brewed a paternity potion myself.”</p><p>“It’ll be quite the scandal, Severus. Potter is a war hero with an Order of Merlin. When it gets out his son isn’t really his son, the <em>Daily Prophet</em> will be all over it. You know what they’re like for gossip.”</p><p>“Just want I need,” Severus sighed. “As long as the Ministry doesn’t hassle me over it. I’ve already taken steps to get him officially recognised as mine, but the last thing I need is them inspecting my house or some such for child suitability.”</p><p>Narcissa looked to Lucius questioningly.</p><p>“I wouldn’t expect any such thing,” he said. “You’re the boy’s real father and Potter clearly doesn’t want him anymore; FCS don’t tend to waste time investigating biological parents unless there’s allegations of abuse.”</p><p>“There are a lot of practical matters to consider, Severus,” Narcissa said. “Do you even have the space for a child?”</p><p>Lucius snorted. “You barely have space for yourself, isn’t that right? I don’t know why you live in that shack.”</p><p>Severus scowled at him. “Just because my home isn’t large enough to host half the wizards in England doesn’t mean it’s small. I’ve plenty of room for myself and a child. But,” he admitted, “I don’t know how to look after a child, Cissy. I don’t even know where to begin.”</p><p>“Do you even want to?” Lucius asked before Narcissa could say anything. “Just because the boy was dumped on your doorstep doesn’t mean you have to look after him. He’s the product of a mistake some eight years ago. He’s not your responsibility.”</p><p>“He’s my son.”</p><p>“Technically, perhaps. But –”</p><p>“But what?” Severus demanded. “Am I supposed to give him back to <em>Potter</em>? The man has made it perfectly clear what he thinks of my son. What else should I do? Let the Ministry give the boy to strangers? Or worse, to the only other family he has?”</p><p>Narcissa shook her head. “The state your mother is in, the Ministry would never –”</p><p>“No, not my mother. Lily’s sister.”</p><p>Lucius scoffed. “Certainly not. Not even the soft Ministry we’re suffering now would give a young wizard to a Muggle. Doesn’t he have a godparent or something?”</p><p>“A godmother, but she’s both Muggleborn and unfit to raise him herself. Besides, I don’t care. I might not know what I’m doing, but he’s still my son. I’m hardly the first person to find themselves unexpectedly a parent.”</p><p>“Most of them have nine months to prepare though.”</p><p>Severus scowled. Lucius smiled. Narcissa reached over and swatted Lucius on the arm.</p><p>“Do stop teasing him. We’re happy to help, Severus; whatever you need.”</p><p>Severus gave her the closest thing to a smile that he ever managed. “Advice. What do I do first? Are there things I need to buy immediately? What do I <em>do</em> with him all day?” He paused then added, “I suppose I ought to find him a tutor.”</p><p>Narcissa looked down at her hands, then back up again. “Perhaps. He’s been raised by James Potter,” she elaborated at Severus’ questioning look. “He opened and runs that school. I expect both Harry and his daughter attend.”</p><p>Severus frowned heavily. He remembered reading about that school. The Lily Daycare and Primary School for Young Witches and Wizards. He didn’t tend to read the papers, but it’d been front page news when it first opened four years ago and of course the name had caught his eye. It was the first official school for under-elevens that wizarding Britain ever had; most parents taught their own children, hired tutors if they could afford it, or occasionally sent them to Muggle school.</p><p>“I don’t see why I should continue sending him there,” Severus said. “I don’t want him around Potter.”</p><p>“Understandable,” Lucius drawled. “I certainly wouldn’t send Draco there.”</p><p>“Quite,” Narcissa agreed, “however, Harry is not Draco.” She leant toward Severus. “I understand why you don’t want Harry near Potter, but you’re not the only one affected by this. It’s going to be very difficult for Harry to deal with this upheaval. It’ll help if he can keep something from his old life, to have some sense of normality.”</p><p>“Are you saying I’m not normal?” Severus asked. Narcissa sat back again with a disapproving look.</p><p>“Don’t take that tone with me, Severus. You know full well what I mean. We’ve been friends for a long time; I know you. If you really want to be a father to this child then you have to think about more than just yourself for once.”</p><p>“You make me sound like a completely selfish bastard. Shut up, Lucius.”</p><p>“I said nothing.”</p><p>Narcissa glanced at her husband with a quirk of her lips, but she addressed Severus. “You’re a single man who’s been living alone since you left Hogwarts. You don’t get out much, if at all. You’re going to have to change that. You can’t keep Harry shut in that house of yours; children need socialisation – with other children.”</p><p>Severus groaned, thumping his head against the chair back.</p><p>“Once again, Severus,” Lucius said, “you don’t <em>have</em> to take responsibility for the boy.”</p><p>Severus stared at the ceiling for a long moment, considering it – he never considered himself suited to fatherhood and couldn’t help ponder if Harry might be better placed elsewhere – but eventually sighed and looked at his friend. “No, Lucius, I do.”</p><p>They talked for some time, Lucius providing as much parental advice as Narcissa despite his arguments against it, until the abrupt arrival of the house-elf. It apologised hastily for interrupting them, assuring them it would punish itself for doing so, but that Draco and Harry were fighting viciously in the playroom.</p><p>The three hastened upstairs and found the two boys scuffling like common Muggles. Draco’s lip was bloodied and Harry’s robes torn, and neither paid heed to the admonishments of the adults. They didn’t even seem to notice them until Narcissa viciously slashed her wand and they were forcibly wrenched apart, landing on their backsides with startled looks as their last punches struck at nothing.</p><p>Draco, finally noticing his parents, looked stricken; Harry, by contrast, merely glared at the other boy and wiped at his mouth. There was no sign of injury, but he appeared to have been so angry as to be literally frothing at the mouth.</p><p>Lucius was almost as furious himself. “Explain yourself, Draco!” he demanded, then, before Draco could do more than obstinately open his mouth, continued, “No! In fact there is no excuse for such behaviour, especially to a guest!”</p><p>Narcissa looked equally displeased, and Draco, panicked in the face of his parents’ fury, blurted out, “He started it!”</p><p>Severus temper flared. He didn’t doubt Draco’s assertion for a second. Harry spent seven years raised by James Potter, no doubt with plenty of influence from Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew; of course he would pick up such ugly habits as Muggle fist-fighting.</p><p>He strode into the room and grabbed Harry by the arm with one hand, hauling him to his feet and raising his other hand with every intention of smarting him across the backside, only to stop when Harry spoke, still glaring furiously at Draco and heedless of the impending punishment.</p><p>“He called my mum a Mudblood! And Mary!”</p><p>Severus lowered his hand, his grip instantly loosening on Harry’s arm, his own gaze darkening as it fell on Draco.</p><p>His relationship with that word was, he would admit to himself, complex. Since the first and only time he’d uttered it directly to Lily, he hated it and everything it meant, yet he continued to use it, especially during his brief tenure as a Death Eater. It had always tasted bitter in his mouth, however, and he endeavoured to avoid it wherever possible.</p><p>He’d never censored anyone else on the word, though, unless it was aimed at Lily. Conversations with the Malfoys generally avoided such topics as to encourage the word, but Lucius did utter it on occasion in Severus’ presence, and Severus did no more than scowl at it. That Draco had picked up the word should be no surprise; in other circumstances, Severus might have been irked but not duly concerned by this.</p><p>However, to have the word directed at Lily was more than he could forgive, even from a youngster. He suddenly wholly agreed with Harry’s decision to hit Draco; in lieu of a wand and the ability to hex him, fisticuffs was the next best thing.</p><p>He felt only some anger that the word was also put to Mary Fawcett. He was fully aware of the hypocrisy of it, but his love for Lily hadn’t managed to fully destroy a disdain for Muggles that his father engendered. It didn’t go so far that, even when he joined the Death Eaters, he thought they should be killed off entirely, but he heartily supported a distinct separation between Muggle and wizard, including taking Muggleborns away from their parents as soon as their magic was realised.</p><p>Harry’s shout stalled the Malfoys as well as Severus. Something flickered in Narcissa’s eye suggesting she realised the impudence in her son insulting a new acquaintance’s mother. Lucius, however, looked momentarily surprised and then schooled his expression to hide what Severus suspected was pride at his son.</p><p>Draco took the momentary silence to scramble to his feet and speak up. “I only said it ’cause it’s true!”</p><p>Severus’ loosened grip tightened again to restrain Harry from jumping at the other boy.</p><p>“He told me!” Draco persisted, either unaware of Harry’s growing anger or secure enough in his parent’s protection. “His grandparents are Muggles, and so’s his godmother’s family!”</p><p>“That’s not a bad thing!” Harry yelled. “Mudblood’s a bad word, you can’t call them that!”</p><p>Draco’s brow furrowed and he looked to his parents. Lucius said and did nothing, giving no indication of his feelings, whatever they were, but Narcissa’s mouth tightened slightly as she glanced to Harry and then Severus before looking back to her son.</p><p>“Harry is correct,” she said. “Mudblood is a foul word and you shouldn’t use it, Draco.”</p><p>Lucius frowned, shooting Narcissa a questioning look that she ignored. Lucius glanced briefly at Harry, then to Severus, who stared back coldly.</p><p>Draco objected. “But Father says it, I’ve heard!”</p><p>“Your father says lots of things he shouldn’t,” Narcissa said. “It doesn’t mean you should repeat them. Now, apologise to Harry.”</p><p>Draco scowled and looked to his father. Lucius frowned slightly, but after a moment’s hesitation said, “Do as your mother says, Draco.”</p><p>Severus gave a short, stiff nod of thanks to Lucius for that, but received only a curled lip and a look away in response.</p><p>“Fine,” Draco grumbled, and turned to Harry. “I’m sorry I called your mother and godmother a Mudblood.”</p><p>Harry looked up at Severus, who merely raised an eyebrow at him, then back to Draco, and finally relaxed in Severus’ grip.</p><p>“Okay. Thanks.” He paused, then added, “I’m sorry for hitting you.”</p><p>Severus glanced at him in surprise, only realising then that an apology for the violence was appropriate. He wouldn’t have expected Harry to offer one up unprompted.</p><p>“Thank you,” Draco said formally.</p><p>“Very well then,” Narcissa said in a lighter tone. “Draco, come here so I can repair your lip.”</p><p>Draco obediently went to her. Severus let go of Harry and looked him over once more for injuries, but his robe was the only casualty.</p><p>It was a little early for the appointment at the Ministry, but Severus decided it would be best for them to leave right now. The kids might have apologised, but they probably shouldn’t be left alone again right then.</p><p>He repaired Harry’s robe – it was a simple tear, easily fixed – then said his goodbyes to the Malfoys and led Harry out. He looked down at the boy as they walked down the manor’s driveway, wondering what, if anything, he should say. A parent was probably supposed to scold their child for fighting, and Severus certainly didn’t want Harry thinking it was acceptable, but Harry had apologised so was it still necessary?</p><p>In the end he settled for saying, “It was very… mature of you to apologise for hitting Draco.”</p><p>Harry looked up, cautiously pleased. “It was?”</p><p>Severus looked away from him, uncomfortable with the boy’s intense look. “Yes. Fighting like that is completely unacceptable, you realise.”</p><p>Harry nodded. “Yeah, I know. I was just really angry when he said that. Mrs Weasley said that’s the worst word in the world. She made Parvati sit in the naughty corner for a whole afternoon when she said it at school, <em>and</em> called her parents, <em>and</em> Padma told me Parvati wasn’t allowed afters <em>for a whole week</em> after that.”</p><p>Severus noted the horror with which Harry said this. He was wondering what suitable punishments were – excepting the occasional swot to the backside, he wasn’t going to follow his father’s abusive footsteps – so hearing this was useful.</p><p>They left the manor grounds, but rather than Apparate directly away, Severus walked down the lane a ways, taking the chance to tell Harry that there were visiting the Ministry next and making sure he knew how to behave. Harry pulled a face at hearing where they were going, but promised to be good and only asked how long they would be there.</p><p>“I’m not sure,” Severus admitted. He hesitated, glanced briefly at Harry, then said, “I intend to legally claim you as my son.”</p><p>“Oh,” Harry said.</p><p>“Are you… okay with that?” He was surprised to find himself genuinely interested in Harry’s answer. Harry was his blood and Severus would claim him regardless, if only to ensure James Potter could never take him again, but he wanted Harry to like him. Severus had hated his own father and had a miserable childhood; he didn’t want Harry’s to be like that.</p><p>Harry shrugged, then said, “Yeah, I guess. You are my dad so I guess you should.” He frowned then. “What does it mean, exactly?”</p><p>“You’ll be on official records as my son, instead of Potter’s.”</p><p>“Oh, okay. So will my name be Snape now?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Okay.” A pause. “Harry James Snape. I guess that sounds okay.”</p><p>Severus stopped short. “Harry <em>James</em>?”</p><p>Harry nodded.</p><p>“We’re changing that,” Severus said bluntly. He didn’t care what Harry thought about this; <em>his</em> son was not bearing that name, <em>at all</em>.</p><p>Harry frowned. “But…” He trailed off, thought about it, then said, “What would be my new middle name?”</p><p>Severus blinked. Did he use his? No. Harry Severus Snape wasn’t a good name. He certainly wasn’t using Tobias, nor were there any names on his mother’s side that he’d want to use. Lily’s father had been Henry – no doubt the inspiration for Harry’s forename – and Severus didn’t know any other male names from her side.</p><p>He had a sudden idea. “Evan. Harry Evan Snape. From your mother’s maiden name.”</p><p>Harry’s shoulders straightened at that. “Okay, yeah, I like that.”</p><p>“Good. Now give me your hand, it’s time to go.”</p>
<hr/><p>The Ministry visit was longer than Severus hoped it would be, but shorter than it might have been. As expected, they did a paternity test to ensure Severus and Harry were related, but still insisted on calling Potter to ask if he was willing to relinquish all custody of Harry. They also did an interview with Harry, which Severus wasn’t allowed to sit in on, and took details on Severus’ life – his work, living arrangements, what his plans were for Harry’s education and such.</p><p>They also asked if he wanted to assign a new godparent. Tempting as it was to dismiss Mary Fawcett as godmother, he knew Harry should have something unchanging right now, and Severus realised he wanted that extra input on parenting. The Malfoys might be his friends, but he didn’t want Harry growing up as the spoilt brat that Draco was quickly becoming. He did, however, add Regulus as a godfather. If something happened to Severus, he needed someone with means to take Harry, which Mary clearly didn’t have. Regulus was also a pureblood, but not so fanatical as the Malfoys, despite his heritage.</p><p>They’d never discussed it precisely, but Severus had the impression Regulus had been as doubtful of the Dark Lord’s plans as Severus had been, and just as grateful for his death. The Dark Lord had given them both the chance to prove themselves – Severus as something more than a greasy, nerdy half-blood; Regulus as more than a second son and brother of a blood traitor – but his methods and plans became too much for both of them. His death was a timely intervention.</p><p>It was also, to this day, up to debate. Voldemort and a small group of Death Eaters had walked into Hogsmeade, set fire to some awful little tea shop, which then blew up and supposedly killed all of them. Most people liked to believe Voldemort had died that day, and certainly he hadn’t been seen since, but they also still refused to speak his name.</p><p>Personally, Severus hoped he was dead for good, but he knew as well as any other Death Eater that Voldemort had done a lot of dark magic in his desire for immortality. If the Dark Lord ever did come back, Severus wouldn’t be caught unawares. He had contingencies in place.</p><p>He’d have to alter those contingencies now, he realised; none of his plans accounted having a child with him.</p><p>Once Family and Child Services was finally done with them, Severus stood outside the elevator, staring at the reissued birth certificate now proclaiming Harry Evan Snape instead of Harry James Potter. Regulus waited beside him and Harry leant against the wall, grumpily jabbing the lift call button.</p><p>“This certainly explains some things.”</p><p>Severus lifted his gaze from the certificate and frowned at Regulus. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“The way Sirius talked about him,” Regulus said in a lowered voice with a nod of his chin towards Harry. “He never talks about Harry with the same fondness he does Calla.”</p><p>Severus folded the birth certificate to keep himself from scrunching it in a fist. “That man knew about my son before I did?”</p><p>Regulus shrugged slightly. “It wouldn’t surprise me. Potter tells him everything.”</p><p>“Fucking Potter.”</p><p>Though Severus was almost as angry at Lily. If she’d told him about Harry to begin with, Severus could have taken him in the day she died. Or perhaps sooner; he wouldn’t have wanted Potter raising his son even with Lily in the picture. Lily might even have left Potter to be with him.</p><p>Although, that wasn’t necessarily good; the time of Harry’s conception had been an emotion-fuelled one-night stand. While nineteen-year-old Severus would have been overjoyed to have Lily be with him, at twenty-seven he knew they would have made a bad pair. Lily never would have stood by him while he dealt illegal potions, and maybe she never would have truly forgiven that Mudblood sling from their youth, or Severus joining the Death Eaters.</p><p>Or perhaps she would. He could never know, and there was no use dwelling on it.</p><p>Regulus accompanied them to the Apparition room in the foyer, and made hints at joining them for dinner, but Severus had had enough of people for one day. He said a terse goodbye and took Harry back to Cokeworth.</p><p>On the walk from the river to Spinner’s End, Harry, who hadn’t spoken much since the Ministry meeting, suddenly asked, “Can I have an ice cream?”</p><p>Severus frowned, looking down at him. “What for?”</p><p>“Because I was good at the Ministry,” Harry explained, and added, at Severus’ incredulous look, “James got us a treat when we were good at boring places.”</p><p>Severus scowled. “I’m not Potter, and you shouldn’t behave well just to get a reward. You should behave well because it’s the proper thing to do.”</p><p>Harry scowled too, then, and Severus was suddenly struck by the similarities in them. He didn’t make a habit of watching himself in the mirror, nor getting his photo taken, but he’d seen enough to recognise his own scowl on Harry’s face. It was tempered by his childish features, but once the boy grew up it could probably be as fearsome as Severus’ own.</p><p>Was that a good thing? He knew he didn’t want Harry to have the miserable childhood he’d had, but did he want Harry to grow up like him? He had no problems being unsociable and curt with everyone he met, but was that what he wanted for Harry as a man?</p><p>No, he realised. He didn’t want Harry becoming like Potter – a nasty bully hiding behind a charming façade – or ending up a wimpy coward like Pettigrew, but he didn’t want the boy to grow up a bitter loner like him.</p><p>He wanted Harry to grow up like Lily. Kind and friendly, but not taken for a fool; brave and determined, but not impulsive; clever and driven, but able to relax and have fun.</p><p>Fear struck him. Could he raise a child to be like that? Could he even raise a child to be happy, well-adjusted, <em>normal</em>? He was a potion dealing introvert living in a town even the Muggle government saw no worth in improving – hardly the model parent.</p><p>When the Ministry lackey had asked what Severus planned for Harry’s education, he’d said he’d leave Harry at the Lily Primary School simply to avoid further questions, but perhaps it was the best thing to do. He didn’t want to leave his home or give up his work, as would be necessary if he was to hire a home tutor; the school would give Harry the input of other adults and time with other kids.</p><p>Not that he was overly keen on the influence of whatever dunderheads taught at the school, but opposing opinions were good, right? Harry couldn’t learn to form his own ideas if all he heard was Severus’ view; the incident with Draco proved that. Severus wanted Harry to be more than a parrot for his own thoughts.</p><p>What he wanted, he realised, was for Harry to grow up free thinking enough that he wouldn’t join an organisation like the Death Eaters <em>before</em> realising it wasn’t the best way to forward his ambitions.</p><p>Harry yawned and afterwards his scowl was more of a grumpy pout. Without thinking too much as to why, Severus decided suddenly, “You can have a small treat. But not ice cream.”</p><p>He had been better behaved than Severus expected, after all, and the occasional reward wouldn’t hurt.</p><p>Harry looked up in surprise, then grinned. “Thanks… Dad.”</p><p>Severus very nearly responded automatically that he wasn’t the boy’s father. Hearing that directed at him was going to take some getting used to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Part 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Reminder that there is a pertinent note at the beginning of Part 1 about a particular character; it's relevent to the end of this chapter and the next. Don't say you weren't warned.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Snape was growing on Harry. It still felt a bit weird to call him Dad, but he was trying, and it felt like Snape was trying too. At least, Harry felt Snape liked him more than James did, and that was good enough for a start.</p>
<p>Sleeping in the guest room was weird. He had sleepovers at unfamiliar homes before, but he always shared a room with his friend, which made it less strange. This bland empty room felt overbearing and scary, only slightly eased by his dragon night-light. He usually didn’t need it anymore – he was seven, after all, not a baby – but he was glad for it this once.</p>
<p>He didn’t get to sleep until late, but still woke around seven the next morning, like usual. There was no noise from the rest of the house and, wary of waking up Snape, Harry remained in his room until his bladder forced him out to the bathroom. When he was done and there was still no sign of Snape, he got dressed and dared to venture downstairs.</p>
<p>Breakfast was minimal. The only cereal Snape had was porridge, which Harry didn’t like, there was no milk, and although there was bread there was no toaster or spreads. He settled for a couple of buttered slices and a glass of water; hopefully Snape would reveal something else when he woke up.</p>
<p>It took some time. Harry took the chance to explore the house unsupervised, but there was nothing much interesting to see. He inspected the bookcase hiding the library, but even if he could have got it to open he wouldn’t have. He wasn’t sure how Snape did discipline, but he wasn’t willing to find out yet. Snape could still choose to get rid of Harry.</p>
<p>He did dare open the cabinet in the living room, and finally struck gold – there was a TV inside. They didn’t have one at home – at Godric’s Hollow – but the Fawcetts had one. It was one of the things Mary and David argued about. Sonya – and Harry when he visited – were only allowed to watch it on weekend mornings.</p>
<p>Well, it was the weekend now and Snape might not even have any rules about it, so he switched it on, found some cartoons, and settled on the sofa to watch.</p>
<p>Ten minutes later the door flew open. The room flashed red. Harry half-fell, half-leapt off the sofa, heart pounding, as a spell whizzed over his head, missing him by more than a foot. It hit the wall, leaving a small charred mark, and Harry ducked behind the sofa, peering over the top to stare wide-eyed at Snape, standing at the base of the stairs.</p>
<p>He was stunned; James might have been a bit unpleasant, but he <span><em>never</em></span><span> turned his wand on Harry in anger. He said only bad parents punished their children with magic. Harry didn’t even know what he’d done wrong!</span></p>
<p>Snape’s wand hand followed Harry behind the sofa, but he cast no more spells. He looked surprised that Harry was hiding, then he growled irritably and jerked his wand aside. The TV turned off with a slight crackle and the doors of its cabinet swung shut.</p>
<p>“That is not a toy, and you do not use it without my permission,” he said gruffly, finally lowering his wand to his side. “Come out from behind there.”</p>
<p>Harry straightened up with a scowl. “It’s just some cartoons. Mary lets me watch cartoons at weekends, and there’s nothing else to do here.”</p>
<p>“I don’t care,” Snape snapped. “You’re living in my house, you’ll obey my rules.”</p>
<p>“It’s a stupid rule.”</p>
<p>“It’s <span><em>my</em></span><span> rule.”</span></p>
<p>“It’s stupid!” Harry said again, angry now. “You’re stupid <span><em>and</em></span><span> mean! You nearly cursed me!”</span></p>
<p>“Don’t be dramatic, child, it came nowhere near you.”</p>
<p>“You tried! You were aiming for me, that’s <span><em>bad!</em></span><span> Only bad parents curse their kids!”</span></p>
<p>A part of him thought he ought to shut up before he upset Snape too badly, but he had to find out his limits one day. Besides, if Snape was going to make a habit of hexing him then Harry didn’t want to live with him, no matter what his other limited options might be.</p>
<p>“Then go!” Snape spat.</p>
<p>Harry blinked. “What?”</p>
<p>“You heard me. Go back to Fawcett, or beg Potter to take you back. Look after yourself, for all I care. I certainly don’t need a rude, ungrateful brat calling <span><em>me</em></span><span> a bad parent when you’ve no idea what poor parenting really is.”</span></p>
<p>Harry gaped at him. Snape was actually throwing him out? For all Harry knew it’d been a possibility, he hadn’t actually thought it would happen. Sure, James got rid of him, but he wasn’t Harry’s real dad. Real dad’s didn’t throw out their kids.</p>
<p>Snape was still glaring at him. “Well?”</p>
<p>Surprise gave way to anger. Harry glared right back. “Fine. I don’t want to live with you anyway. I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone! I can look after myself.”</p>
<p>“Then <span><em>go</em></span><span>,” Snape snarled.</span></p>
<p>Harry stomped to the front door, twisted the handle, and wrenched it open. He turned to look back, saw Snape’s face still twisted angrily, and yelled, “I hate you!” before stepping outside and slamming the door shut behind him.</p>
<hr/>
<p>An hour later he was huddled in a bus stop, its old schedule so faded it probably wasn’t right anymore, the three brick walls providing shelter from the rain if not the cold. He’d stormed away from Spinner’s End in an anger, but quickly realised he had nothing but the clothes on his back, no shoes, and no idea of where to go.</p>
<p>Eventually he’d thought to make his way to the Fawcetts, but that meant reaching Manchester and he had no idea how to do that. He couldn’t summon the Knight Bus, and had no money to pay for any Muggle transport. He thought he might be able to sneak onto a Muggle train, but never found sign of a station.</p>
<p>So he’d walked, passing through an industrial area before reaching roads bordered only by fields, and just kept walking until he found the bus stop.</p>
<p>He sat there for what felt like hours with no sign of a bus, and very few cars, none of which even slowed as they passed him. Eventually, however, a middle-aged man in a black coat waltzed up and sat down, leaving a space between them large enough for another person. He had a receding hairline and wasn’t particularly remarkable until he spoke, revealing a Cockney accent.</p>
<p>“I don’t think the busses run on Sundays,” he said conversationally.</p>
<p>Harry said nothing. He wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers.</p>
<p>“Where are your parents, kid?”</p>
<p>Still, he said nothing.</p>
<p>The man shrugged. “You ain’t the first kid whose parents abandoned them in the middle of nowhere and Apparated away.”</p>
<p>Harry started. “You’re a wizard?” he blurted out, forgetting that he wasn’t meant to talk to strangers.</p>
<p>“Do you know what the Ministry does to abandoned young wizards?” the man asked, ignoring Harry’s question.</p>
<p>Curious and slightly concerned at the man’s tone, Harry asked worriedly, “What?”</p>
<p>“They erase their memories of magic and put them with a Muggle family.”</p>
<p>Harry’s eyes widened. “They never!”</p>
<p>The man nodded seriously. “They do.”</p>
<p>Harry shook his head, refusing to believe it. “My godmother’s a witch. She won’t let them erase my memory.”</p>
<p>“She might, if your parents demand it. Some parents do, when they really don’t want their children.”</p>
<p>Harry glared at the man. “You’re lying. My dad wouldn’t do that.”</p>
<p>“He left you here, didn’t he?”</p>
<p>“No!” Harry only half-lied, leaping to his feet. “I ran away!”</p>
<p>“Did you now?” the man said, grinning. “What’d you do that for?”</p>
<p>Harry’s moment of bravado faltered and he sat back down. “I’m not s’posed to talk to strangers.”</p>
<p>A hand was thrust under his nose. “My name’s Crowley.”</p>
<p>Harry blinked up at him. The man wiggled his fingers.</p>
<p>“C’mon, kid. We’ve already been talking, and I promise not to kidnap you. I don’t need kids for anything; you’re way too much effort to look after. What’s your name?”</p>
<p>Cautiously, because the other option was running away and it was still raining, Harry shook his hand. “I’m Harry.”</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you, Harry. So why’d you run away?”</p>
<p>“What d’you care?”</p>
<p>Crowley shrugged. “Just making conversation.”</p>
<p>“What are <span><em>you</em></span><span> doing here?”</span></p>
<p>“I was in the neighbourhood.”</p>
<p>Harry looked around pointedly at the distinct lack of housing then looked up at him. Crowley chuckled.</p>
<p>“No really. I went for a walk. A very long walk. I needed to get out for a bit.”</p>
<p>“Out of where?”</p>
<p>“My work place.”</p>
<p>“Won’t your boss fire you?”</p>
<p>Crowley grinned and leaned in with the air of someone imparting a great secret. “I am the boss.”</p>
<p>“I guess that makes it okay,” Harry said. “What’s your job?”</p>
<p>“I’m a businessman. I make deals and give people what they want.”</p>
<p>“What kind of things?” Harry asked curiously.</p>
<p>“Anything. I grant wishes.”</p>
<p>Harry wrinkled his nose. “What’s that mean? You sound like a genie.”</p>
<p>Crowley laughed. “Certainly not a genie. But I do grant wishes. I can grant you a wish, if you like.”</p>
<p>“Like what?”</p>
<p>“Anything you want.” Crowley’s smile softened. “If you could have anything right now, anything at all in the whole world even, say… something happening to someone else… what would you ask for?”</p>
<p>Harry gave him a sceptical look. “You’re saying you can grant any wish? Even something magic can’t normally do?”</p>
<p>“Yep.”</p>
<p>“I don’t believe you.”</p>
<p>“Tell me your wish and I’ll prove it.”</p>
<p>He thought for a moment, trying to come up with something impossible. Money for Mary so they could buy a bigger house and she could take him in? No, money could come from anywhere. To make James love him, so he would take Harry back and things would be like they used to be, or even better?</p>
<p>That’s what he really wanted, except for that to happen Calla had to be cured too, so did he wish for that? But even if Calla was suddenly cured, that wouldn’t prove this man did it, it could just be a coincidence, the healers figuring out how to heal her at the very moment Crowley claimed to do it. So then what?</p>
<p>Suddenly it came to him – for him to heal Calla. That would make James love him <span><em>and</em></span><span> prove if this man really could grant wishes.</span></p>
<p>He lifted his chin. “I wish I was the best healer in the whole world – that I knew everything about healing magic and all about Muggle medicine so I could make my sister better so James would love me and I can go back home.”</p>
<p>Crowley grinned widely again. “Wish granted,” he said, and Harry gasped as a red smoky substance infused the man’s eyes, filling them corner to corner until only the black pupils remained amidst the red. Crowley grabbed Harry’s chin, titled his head up, and kissed him firmly. Harry shoved at him and then –</p>
<p>A car squealed, a door slammed, and Crowley was jerked away. Harry stared forward, blinking, suddenly filled with a world of knowledge that he never had before. He looked at his hand and thought –</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <em>Trapezium. Trapezoid. Scaphoid. Hamate. Capitate. Pisiform. Triquetrum. Lunate – </em>
  </span>
</p>
<p>Laughter broke his thoughts. He shook his head and focused. The car he’d heard was stopped at an angle across the road, facing towards him. A woman in smart-casual wear had Crowley bent over the bonnet, jerking his arms behind him and snapping handcuffs around his wrists.</p>
<p>“You sick son of a bitch,” the woman snarled.</p>
<p>Crowley laughed. “What’s the matter, Superintendent? Or have you not got the call yet and it’s still Detective Inspector?”</p>
<p>The woman jerked him up and slammed him down against the bonnet again. “Shut up, you bastard.”</p>
<p>She wrenched him up and moved him to the back door of the car, opening it and roughly manhandling him inside. She slammed the door on him and then turned to Harry. She smiled, but it was clearly forced. Her eyes betrayed her fear, though Harry wasn’t sure what she was afraid of.</p>
<p>“Hey there,” she said softly, as if he was a frightened animal. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>Harry nodded. He could name every bone, muscle, and organ in his body, he knew what spells would fix a fracture and how to stitch up a flesh wound, and he knew which drugs a doctor would prescribe to treat high-blood pressure and what potions a healer would give, but he wasn’t hurt.</p>
<p>“What’s your name?”</p>
<p>“Harry.”</p>
<p>“Harry, this is really important. Before that man kissed you, did you ask him for something?”</p>
<p>“I made a wish.”</p>
<p>The woman’s face went ashen. “Oh god.”</p>
<p>“Is he a genie?” Harry asked, looking around her at the car. Crowley was still sat in the back, grinning at them through the front window. “I thought he was lying when he said he could grant my wish but he wasn’t.” When he looked back at the woman, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong, miss? I’m not hurt.”</p>
<p>She huffed, a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and wiped her eyes then took a deep, shaky breath. “Harry, my name’s Alison Morgan, I’m a police officer.”</p>
<p>“You don’t look like one. You’re not wearing the uniform,” Harry pointed out. He’d seen police officers in Godric’s Hollow; he wasn’t like the Weasley children who had no idea how to recognise Muggle law enforcement.</p>
<p>“I’m a detective inspector, a plain-clothes police officer.” She withdrew a leather wallet from her pocket and showed him her ID then tucked it away again and ran her hands distractedly through her hair. “Gods,” she whispered.</p>
<p>“What is that man?” Harry asked worriedly, unable to miss Alison’s clear concern. “Should I not have made a wish? Is he a peado?”</p>
<p>He wasn’t a hundred percent sure what a peado was except that it had something to do with bad touches.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” she half-whispered, sounding close to tears and staring at him, then she sighed and moved to sit next to him, glancing into the car to check Crowley wasn’t trying to escape or get up to anything. “I don’t think so. He’s a…” she swallowed thickly “… a demon.”</p>
<p>Harry peered through the car’s front windscreen. “He doesn’t look like a demon,” he noted sceptically, but then remembered the red that filled Crowley’s eyes just before he kissed him.</p>
<p>“I don’t think most demons look like the bible says,” Alison said bitterly. “It’s how they trick us into thinking they’re not so bad.”</p>
<p>Harry knew nothing of the bible except that it had something to do with Muggle religion. Mary was religious and Harry had learnt a few things from her, but he really doubted there was a giant friendly man living in the sky. Mary had said that wasn’t exactly what God was, but her explanation of Him being everywhere all the time was just confusing so Harry decided religion was just something Muggles made up to explain magic, like James told him.</p>
<p>But he knew a little about demons. Fred and George Weasley had scared him, Ron, and Ginny by telling stories of grotesque, shape-shifting creatures from hell dimensions (which, from what Harry could tell, meant they came from another planet) that came to torment humans for fun, eating up their insides and sticking their heads on pikes while they were still alive.</p>
<p>Harry had nightmares for a week, even after James assured him that while demons did exist, they couldn’t freely come to earth whenever they liked. Only a summoning ritual would bring them out of their hell dimension and only dark wizards summoned them, and all the really dark wizards were in Azkaban so he had nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>Alison looked at him with sad eyes again. “Harry, will you tell me what you wished for?”</p>
<p>He opened his mouth to answer – to mention only the Muggle medicine, as he was fairly sure she wasn’t a witch even though she knew about demons – but before he could –</p>
<p>“Harry!”</p>
<p>He leapt up. Snape stalked down the street towards them, wand in hand, although he shoved it in his pocket when Alison turned to look. He came to a stop just under the bus shelter and Alison got to her feet.</p>
<p>“Harry, do you know this man?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Harry admitted reluctantly.</p>
<p>“I’m his father,” Snape bit out. “Who are you?”</p>
<p>Alison showed her ID. “DI Morgan. Would you like to explain why your son is sitting alone in a bus stop so far from town?”</p>
<p>“He ran off.”</p>
<p>“You kicked me out,” Harry pointed out sullenly.</p>
<p>“Is that true?” Alison asked.</p>
<p>Snape didn’t answer, looking over her then cutting his gaze to the car, where Crowley still sat watching, looking amused. Harry wondered, if he really was a demon, why he was so content to just sit in the car.</p>
<p>“I asked you a question,” Alison said tersely, drawing Snape’s gaze back to her. “Did you kick you son out?”</p>
<p>Once again, Snape didn’t answer. He drew his wand and Harry gasped as he pointed it at the woman.</p>
<p>“<span><em>Obliviate</em></span><span>,” Snape murmured, and Alison’s eyes glazed over. Leaving her standing there dazed, Snape moved to the car, pointed his wand in at Crowley, and then paused, eyes narrowing.</span></p>
<p>“What are you?”</p>
<p>“That’s a bit rude,” Crowley remarked, looking completely unruffled. “Don’t you mean <span><em>who are you?</em></span><span>”</span></p>
<p>Snape’s voice was sharp. “I know a human mind when I see one. <span><em>What are you?</em></span><span>”</span></p>
<p>“I’m just a man. You wizards get your knickers in such a twist –”</p>
<p>Snape flicked his wand, but Crowley vanished from the back of the car before the silent spell struck, and the rear seat was slashed through to the back panel.</p>
<p>“Someone really needs to teach you some manners,” Crowley said, and both Harry and Snape spun to see him now standing across the road, hands stuffed casually in his pockets. “But I can see when I’m not welcome. Shame,” he added, with a shrug. “I was hoping to make a few more deals down at the station, but never mind.” He cut his gaze to Harry and grinned. “I’ll see you in ten years, littl’un.”</p>
<p>Then he vanished.</p>
<p>Alison moaned softly and lifted a hand to her head. “What…”</p>
<p>Snape snarled, stalked to Harry and grabbed his arm tightly, and Disapparated. They reappeared in Cokeworth and Snape hurriedly led Harry back to Spinner’s End.</p>
<p>“What happened out there?” Snape demanded as soon as the door snapped shut behind them.</p>
<p>“You’re not supposed to use magic on Muggles,” Harry said instead of answering. Snape’s lip curled.</p>
<p>“She was an interfering cow who would have dragged us both down the police station. I erased her memory and saved us the trouble. Tell me what happened. Who was that man? Why did he say he would see you in ten years?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know. The police lady said he was a demon.”</p>
<p>Snape dismissed this with a scoff. “Muggles know nothing of these things.”</p>
<p>“I think she’s right. I saw his eyes go red.”</p>
<p>Snape sucked in a sharp breath. “Red?”</p>
<p>Harry nodded.</p>
<p>“How do you mean his eyes turned red? Tell me everything, Harry.”</p>
<p>Instead of answering, Harry asked, “What are you going to do to me now?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“You don’t want me. You said I should look after myself. You tried to hex me.”</p>
<p>A flicker of something that might have been shame flashed across Snape’s face. He turned away, unbuttoning his cloak and draping it over the sofa. “I did not intend to hex you, earlier. When the TV woke me, I thought someone had broken into the house; I’d forgotten about you. After, I lost my temper. I… am not pleasant in the mornings, especially when I’ve not had coffee.” Snape turned back to him. “Do you really hate me?” His tone was curt, but there was a flicker of concern in his eyes.</p>
<p>“No,” Harry admitted, and then shrugged apologetically. “I don’t really know you.”</p>
<p>“That’s fair enough,” Snape murmured, and ran a thoughtful finger across his lips. “I realise that, for the same reason, you would prefer to live with your godmother, however I would like to ask that you at least give me a chance. We’ve both only just discovered our relation; at the very least, we ought to get to know one another.”</p>
<p>“I guess,” Harry agreed.</p>
<p>“Right. Good. Now tell me what happened out there.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Severus had read about demons during his sixth year, a passing but intense interest primarily spawned by his broken friendship with Lily. He’d been miserable and eager to bury himself in any distractions; demons were an appealingly dark one. He never summoned one, but he came close. He knew all the theory, and summoning a crossroads demon, the ones that most often made deals with humans, was the easiest to do – so easy that even a Muggle could.</p>
<p>So he recognised Harry’s description of events with horrifying ease. An intense quiz soon proved that the boy really did have an impossible amount of healing knowledge; he could name all the ingredients of healing potions that Severus himself had to look up, and he could give a detailed description on how Muggles treated a variety of injuries and illnesses.</p>
<p>Severus even leant him his wand for Harry to try a couple of small healing spells, cutting his own arm when Harry objected to practising on rats. It took the boy a few tries, and the wounds left faint scars, but with his own wand he might have done it perfectly.</p>
<p>There was no doubt that he’d made a genuine deal with a bona fide demon.</p>
<p>Of course, he hadn’t summoned the demon himself, but there was nothing that prevented a summoned demon from sticking around if it wasn’t subsequently exorcised or banished. Evidently whichever moron summoned Crowley hadn’t been smart enough to get rid of him afterwards, and as a result Harry – Severus’ own son! – was now doomed to hell in just ten short years.</p>
<p>It was the cost of the kind of deal made with a crossroads demon – ten years later the demon would send hellhounds to hunt the human down, kill them, and then their soul would get dragged to one of the hell dimensions for the rest of eternity.</p>
<p>Not that Severus told Harry that. He might be new to the business of parenting, but he realised the folly in telling a seven year old they were doomed to a hell dimension before they were old enough to even finish Hogwarts.</p>
<p>Besides, if he had anything to do about it, Harry wasn’t going to die that way.</p>
<p>He did nothing about it during the day. He took Harry out for a proper breakfast, then reluctantly took him shopping for food and bedroom furniture. The former was a necessity – Severus kept his kitchen cupboards sparsely stocked, content with the same few meals all the time, occasionally visiting restaurants, the Malfoys, or Regulus if he sought something different.</p>
<p>The latter was part apology, and part parenting efforts. He’d never been able to do much with his bedroom as a child, and recalled the jealousy he felt when he visited Lily’s house and saw her highly personalised room. Letting Harry decorate his room how he liked was the right thing to do, as a good parent, wasn’t it?</p>
<p>Either way it made Harry happy, picking out colour-changing paint for his walls, a bed with butterflies carved into the foot- and headboards, and an elaborate desk with multiple hidden compartments that he insisted he absolutely needed. The price made Severus wince, but he bought it; he didn’t lack for funds, he just wasn’t used to spending so much in one go.</p>
<p>Mary Fawcett came by after lunch. Harry thankfully didn’t mention that morning’s incident – either their fight or the demon – and Severus certainly didn’t intend to. Fawcett would probably try and take Harry away from him. She couldn’t, legally, not anymore, but she still might try.</p>
<p>She looked a little surprised when she heard they’d changed Harry’s name, and sad when Harry confirmed he was happy to remain with Severus, though she made a good effort to hide it from the boy. Had she been hoping he’d refuse and beg to live with her, even though they all knew it wasn’t feasible?</p>
<p>“I’ll fetch a few more of your clothes and things from James’ house and bring them by tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll have to arrange something to pick up the rest of your things.”</p>
<p>When she’d gone, Severus tested Harry on his medical knowledge, then a few hours after dinner, when Harry asked for a hot chocolate before bed, Severus slipped a couple of drops of sleeping potion into it, waited until the boy was out for the night, and set to work.</p>
<p>He had a few whole yarrow plants in his potion supplies, he’d dug out an old photo of himself from Draco’s naming ceremony, and he took a handful of graveyard dirt from the local cemetery. A brief trip to Knockturn Alley – which thrived with street traders after the standing shops shut for the day, dodgy salesmen advertising their wares amidst the catcalls and offers of the prostitutes – got him the bone of black cat, the final ingredient he needed.</p>
<p>He stuffed all four in an empty ingredients jar, took it to the small crossroads on the edge of town, put up some temporary Muggle-repellant spells, and charmed up a chuck of concrete. He put the jar into the hole, replaced the concrete (transfigured just enough to fit snugly), and looked around impatiently. He didn’t put away his wand.</p>
<p>A woman appeared, silently, just on the edge of the crossroads. She was dressed in a Muggle skirt suit, hair in a bun, all business. Severus appreciated that.</p>
<p>“What can I do for you?” she asked, direct and to the point.</p>
<p>“My son made a deal with one of you earlier today,” he said coldly, turning to keep her in view as she paced a slow circle around him, like a cat circled a mouse it had no intention of eating, only playing with. He kept his grip firm on his wand. “I want to know how to void it.”</p>
<p>“Void it? We don’t void deals,” she told him disdainfully. “Now an exchange, that might be an option, but only the boss does them.”</p>
<p>“Then summon your boss.”</p>
<p>She frowned. “He almost never agrees to it. You’d only be wasting your time. Make a deal with me.”</p>
<p>He waved his wand and a shower of salt appeared from thin air to drop over her. She shrieked, leaping away from it, and then glared furiously at him. Her legs below the skirt were now red and blistered where the salt had touched her skin.</p>
<p>“That was uncalled for.”</p>
<p>“Summon your boss.”</p>
<p>Her lip curled distastefully, but she made no more objections. “Bastard,” she spat before disappearing without a sound.</p>
<p>Mere seconds later, Crowley stood before him instead. The demon grinned.</p>
<p>“Nice to see you again. Come to make a deal for yourself?”</p>
<p>Snape’s fingers clenched on his wand. “You’re the boss?”</p>
<p>Crowley spread his arms. “King of the Crossroads, at your service. Or not. I’m not making an exchange on your son.”</p>
<p>“How do you know he’s my son?”</p>
<p>Crowley shrugged. “No one else comes asking for exchanges on kid’s souls. Hopeless endeavour; very few adults have souls equal in worth to a child’s.”</p>
<p>“Then you do make exchanges,” Severus said. “It’s just a matter of price. How much is Harry’s soul worth?”</p>
<p>“To you or to me?”</p>
<p>Severus said nothing. A chill wind blew his cloak around his knees and hair in his face.</p>
<p>“Tell you what,” Crowley said. “I’ll give you the run down on our Exchanges and Voids deals, and you can decide what you’re willing to pay.”</p>
<p>“I thought you didn’t do voids,” Severus remarked.</p>
<p>Crowley waved a dismissive hand. “Company line. Can’t let every Tom, Dick, and Harry know we give voids under the right circumstances.”</p>
<p>“What circumstances would those be?”</p>
<p>Crowley smiled the smile of a salesman who knows he’s got a buyer in the palm of his hand.</p>
<p>“We have three possible deals for the discerning parent: Deal One – you get a soul of equal or greater value to willingly give it up for the kid’s life. Kid loses his knowledge and the kindly saviour gets ten years before taking a trip downstairs. Note that ‘willingly’ not only means no coercion, magical or mundane, but also that the person understands exactly what they’re giving up and to what.”</p>
<p>So no cheap fools bribed to relinquish their souls in ignorance.</p>
<p>“Deal Two – you get three souls of equal or greater value to willingly give it up. Kid gets to keep his knowledge for another ten years, but loses it when the three die. Deal Three –” here, Crowley paused, giving Snape the look of a man who expects to see carnage and plans to enjoy it “ – you get three souls of equal or greater value to give it up immediately, and the kid gets to keep his knowledge forever.”</p>
<p>The thought of sacrificing three innocent people for the sake of his own son barely gave Severus even a flash of guilt. Curious, he asked, “How many people have ever fulfilled the terms of a deal like this?”</p>
<p>“Three, and only Deal One.”</p>
<p>Severus wasn’t surprised. “How do I determine the worth of a soul?”</p>
<p>Crowley clapped his hands together then folded them apart to lie flat. A black crystal lay on his palm, roughly cut, two and a half inches long. He picked it up between thumb and forefinger.</p>
<p>“Touch this to the boy’s skin and it turns a certain colour, calibrates to his soul. Touch it to someone else, it’ll turn lighter if they’re worth more, darker if less. Capiche? Good. Make sure he’s the first to touch it, or it’ll calibrate to someone else.”</p>
<p>Severus looked pointedly at where Crowley was holding it.</p>
<p>“Demon,” Crowley shrugged. “No soul. No calibration. Have the people bleed on it, then smash it and the kid’s soul is saved.”</p>
<p>“The chances of finding even one willing sacrifice is astronomical. You expect me to fail.”</p>
<p>Crowley smiled. Unlike the earlier grins, this was a truly cruel smile. It reminded Severus uncomfortably of the Dark Lord.</p>
<p>“Since you mention sacrifices, there is <span><em>one</em></span><span> way that you can avoid the willing part.”</span></p>
<p>“How?” Severus asked suspiciously.</p>
<p>“Kill them yourself in a Dark Sacrifice.”</p>
<p>Severus stiffened. The demon grinned.</p>
<p>“Anyway, I have actual work to be doing, so make your choice, Daddy darling.”</p>
<p>Severus almost hexed him for that. He refrained and just transfigured a pebble into a small pouch. Crowley sauntered forwards and dropped the crystal in it.</p>
<p>“One last thing before I go,” Crowley said. Severus gripped his wand tightly; he didn’t like the demon’s tone. “This deal is only valid for three days from the moment I made a deal with the kid. Don’t think you can wait ten years and sacrifice someone just before your son kicks it. If there’s no exchange in seventy-two hours, the offer’s gone. Got that?”</p>
<p>Severus inhaled sharply. Crowley grinned, and vanished.</p>
<p>He reappeared again just a moment later. “By the way, you remember that copper from this morning? She’s the one that summoned me before. She also happens to have three kids that I’m fairly certain are worth as much as your son,” he added, and vanished once more.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“You damn your own soul.”</p>
<p>Severus whirled, wand raising and a binding spell leaving the tip as soon as his gaze fell on a figure behind him. The spell missed by an inch and his target didn’t even flinch, just stepped out of the shadows to reveal the wasted figure of Nemo.</p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” Severus demanded.</p>
<p>“Followed you,” Nemo admitted with a careless shrug. “Had a feeling Harry made his deal after your spat –”</p>
<p>Severus lunged forward, grabbed Nemo’s dirty robes in one fist, and shoved his wand tip into the man’s throat.</p>
<p>“How the fuck do you know about the deal?”</p>
<p>“I know everything.”</p>
<p>Severus growled, digging his wand harder into the thin throat. “Don’t try and mess with me. You’ve no idea what I’m capable of.”</p>
<p>Nemo looked supremely unconcerned. To Severus’ absolute shock, and no little fear, Nemo calmly pried Severus’ fingers apart and extracted himself from his grip, while Severus found himself suddenly frozen in place. Try as he might, he couldn’t move below the neck, not even a twitch of his fingers or toes, not even to stop Nemo plucking the wand from his hand.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” he asked, hearing the fear in his own voice.</p>
<p>Severus hadn’t felt fear like this in years, not since the vast majority of his fellow Death Eaters inexplicably turned themselves over to the Aurors after the fall of the Dark Lord. He had been terrified that he, too, would suddenly feel compelled to give himself up, confess all his crimes, and get thrown in Azkaban for life.</p>
<p>It hadn’t happened, and to this day he had no idea why he, Lucius, and Regulus – if there were any others, he didn’t know them – remained free when so many others didn’t, including people who’d never have been suspected as Death Eaters if they hadn’t given themselves up.</p>
<p>“Who am I?” Nemo said, moving around Severus and waving his wand at the ground to pull up the concrete again, retrieving the buried jar. “I’m no one. Everyone. I’ve been so many people I’m not sure I know anymore.”</p>
<p>He turned and levitated the jar to Severus, who suddenly found himself able to move. He took the jar from out of the air and looked at the man warily.</p>
<p>“How do you know about Harry?”</p>
<p>“I told you, I know everything. But that’s not important. <span><em>That’s</em></span><span> important.”</span></p>
<p>He pointed Severus’ wand at the jar and Severus couldn’t restrain a flinch. He didn’t appreciate having a wand pointed at him, especially not his own.</p>
<p>Nemo didn’t seem to notice. “You damn yourself if you kill those children. There’s no redemption from a Dark Sacrifice.”</p>
<p>“And you’re concerned for my soul?” Severus sneered.</p>
<p>Nemo considered this. “No, not particularly. Not for a long time.” Severus had no idea what he meant by that; he didn’t see that Nemo should ever have been concerned for his soul. “I merely thought I should make you aware of all the facts.”</p>
<p>“How <span><em>touching</em></span><span>. But my soul is already damned.”</span></p>
<p>Not that it bothered him, because he didn’t believe in afterlife judgement. Certainly hell dimensions existed, but Severus didn’t believe some god or other being would weigh a soul’s sins and send it on to one of those dimensions as punishment.</p>
<p>“No, it’s not,” Nemo said softly.</p>
<p>Severus’ lip curled. “What do you know?” he spat, angered by the man’s attitude and actions. “Just give me my wand and go home before I decide to never sell to you again.”</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t do that. I pay you too much, and I bet you don’t know yet how expensive kids are. And I know a great deal about damned souls. I know even more about you. I know about the shag in the woods that produced Harry. I know you were a Death Eater.”</p>
<p>“How dare – !”</p>
<p>“I know you only killed a handful of people,” Nemo went on, ignoring Severus’ anger, “and I know you only did so on command. A damned soul that does not make. Tarnished, perhaps. But not damned.”</p>
<p>“You were one,” Severus said, feeling his heart pounding in his chest at his past being so openly discussed. “You were a Death Eater.”</p>
<p>He and Lucius rarely spoke of it, he and Regulus never, and there was a silent agreement that the past was best left buried. Despite what drove them to join Voldemort in the first place, they all preferred life without him. True, Severus occasionally wished for that power and glory that Voldemort once offered him, but he was content with his lot. He had a reasonable income, a quiet life, plenty of time to experiment with his brewing and just enough thrill from dealing in illicit potions to keep from getting bored.</p>
<p>“Once upon a time,” Nemo confirmed, and laughed. It was ragged and dry, touched with insanity.</p>
<p>“Those potions have addled your brains.”</p>
<p>“On the contrary, the drugs help me ignore my insanity. Or at least live with it.” He stared down at his hands. Severus looked at them, but saw nothing of note. “I don’t have nearly enough drugs in me right now, in any case.” He sighed, looking up again. “Crowley intends you to damn yourself by killing those kids with a Dark Sacrifice. It guarantees an extra soul more than if you found willing people to exchange their souls.”</p>
<p>“So what? You plan to stop me?”</p>
<p>“No, just warn you.” He looked down at the wand in his hand, back up. “Just out of curiosity, what did Harry ask for?”</p>
<p>“Does it matter?”</p>
<p>“Not really,” Nemo admitted. “I just wondered.”</p>
<p>Severus glanced at the wand in Nemo’s hand, the fact he was making no move to return it, and answered, “Knowledge.”</p>
<p>Nemo stared at him. Severus frowned, shifted. “What?”</p>
<p>“Sorry, drugs are fucking with me. What did you say?”</p>
<p>“Knowledge,” Severus repeated, eying him even more warily now. “Healing knowledge.”</p>
<p>Nemo continued to stare, expression one of utter bafflement. Maybe Severus really should stop selling to him; he knew all those drugs would fuck him up eventually.</p>
<p>Eventually Nemo said, “D’you mean healing magic?”</p>
<p>“I mean the knowledge of it,” Severus said irritably. “He knows as much as any trained healer. And Muggle doctor.”</p>
<p>“Okay, but like, he can perform it, right?”</p>
<p>Severus shrugged. “Technically, but no great skill. With practice and his own wand, he’d probably be more than capable.”</p>
<p>“So you’re telling me he’s not a seven year old magical healing prodigy?”</p>
<p>Severus raised his eyebrows. “No. Why should he be?”</p>
<p>“Because!” Nemo yelled. “Because it’s always supposed to be fucking <span><em>magic!</em></span><span>”</span></p>
<p>He threw Severus’ wand then, so suddenly Severus started and then lunged forward as it clattered to the road. He snatched it up and immediately aimed it at Nemo, but the man had already vanished.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Part 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>Harry didn’t want to lose his soul. Snape hadn’t explained exactly what it involved, when Harry pushed him on why the demon said he’d be back in ten years, except that it didn’t involve Dementors.</p>
<p>Not that Harry really understood what losing his soul meant, or what a Dementor was, except that they came at night to suck out the souls of naughty children. At least according to Bill Weasley, but Harry had his doubts because they hadn’t sucked out Fred and George’s souls yet, and they were the naughtiest people Harry knew.</p>
<p>However it happened, Harry didn’t want to lose his soul in ten years. He also didn’t want to lose his new-found knowledge, at least not without healing Calla first, which he couldn’t do until he saw her and examined her for himself. He was pretty sure he could, anyway. He <span><em>must</em></span><span> be able to with all this information about healing and medicine.</span></p>
<p>“You will cure the girl,” Snape said gruffly on Monday. He hadn’t tried to hex Harry this morning, but he’d been awake before Harry. Harry had a suspicion Snape had been up all night. “I will make sure of that much before freeing you from this demon deal.”</p>
<p>“Can you do that?” Harry asked hopefully. “I really don’t want to lose my soul.”</p>
<p>“<span><em>That</em></span><span> will not happen, I assure you.”</span></p>
<p>“You promise? You swear on your magic?”</p>
<p>Snape raised an eyebrow at that, but Harry glared back at him. Everyone knew if you promised on your magic and broke it then you became a squib and had to go live with Muggles for the rest of your life. Harry wanted that assurance from Snape on this.</p>
<p>“I swear on my magic,” Snape promised solemnly, “that I will prevent demons from taking your soul.”</p>
<p>Harry nodded just as solemnly. “Good. And you’ll help me see Calla so I can heal her?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Are you ready to go?”</p>
<p>“No, you haven’t made my lunch.”</p>
<p>Snape stared blankly at him.</p>
<p>“I need a packed lunch. For lunch time?”</p>
<p>Snape scowled then – as if Harry was the one being stupid! – but went to the kitchen and packed him up a lunch. Finally ready, they headed out</p>
<p>“Remember to tell no one about the demon,” Snape reminded him as they walked towards the Apparition point by the river. “<span><em>No one.</em></span><span>”</span></p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p>“And don’t reveal –”</p>
<p>“Don’t show them what I know. I <span><em>know</em></span><span>, you told me already fifty times.”</span></p>
<p>“It was not fifty times,” Snape said curtly, “and I need to be sure you remember. If anyone finds out, they might deem me an unfit parent and take you away.” He paused, then added, “If they do, no one else would save your soul, nor let you see your sister.”</p>
<p>Harry kicked a loose pebble, angry and scared. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear it.”</p>
<p>“On your magic?”</p>
<p>Harry stopped, gaping up at him. Snape looked down with a raised eyebrow. But it was only fair, wasn’t it? Snape had promised on his magic, so Harry should too.</p>
<p>“I swear on my magic I won’t tell anyone about the demon deal.”</p>
<p>Snape nodded and set off again.</p>
<p>They were a little late arriving at the school, Apparating onto the edge of the playground, so all the other kids were already there, and Harry waved to them, getting several waves back. They all stared openly at Snape, curious, but he scowled and they quickly looked away.</p>
<p>Mrs Weasley was trying to get everyone in order before heading inside, which today included breaking up a fight between Sonya Fawcett and Angelina Johnson. Harry grimaced at the sight; Sonya only got into fights when her parents had been arguing really bad. Mrs Weasley noticed Harry and Snape as they approached, but unable to leave the girls she just turned her head and yelled for Mr Lupin.</p>
<p>Snape’s hand clutched Harry’s shoulder, stopping him short, fingers digging in so hard it hurt.</p>
<p>“Ow!”</p>
<p>Snape’s grip loosened slightly, but he didn’t respond to Harry, his gaze instead fixed on the double doors into the school, where Mr Lupin had appeared. Harry had thought Snape looked angry when he found Harry talking to Nemo on Saturday out in the street, but it was nothing to the look on his face right now.</p>
<p>Mr Lupin stared back at Snape with an unusually solemn expression. He looked tired – he’d been sick again lately, not teaching them last Thursday and Friday – but even so Harry had never seen him looking like he did right now. Even tired, Mr Lupin was nearly always smiling, and he never yelled at them like Mrs Weasley did when they misbehaved. He would just look at them sadly and say he was disappointed, which was worse, but if they proved they were really sorry and behaved well then he’d smile and say how pleased he was with them.</p>
<p>Right now he just looked incredibly sad.</p>
<p>Mr Lupin sighed softly, unheard but visible from across the playground, then stepped out and started towards Harry and Snape. Snape let go of Harry’s shoulder finally, but only to step in front of him and draw his wand.</p>
<p>Mr Lupin stopped a little way from them. “Good morning, Severus. Hello, Harry.”</p>
<p>“Hi, Mr –”</p>
<p>“What the fuck are you doing here?”</p>
<p>Harry gaped up at him then quickly looked to Mr Lupin for his reaction.</p>
<p>Mr Lupin frowned – that initial disappointed look that usually stopped slight misbehaviour from getting worse – and answered, “I work here.”</p>
<p>“<span><em>You?</em></span><span>” Snape voice practically dripped with disgust.</span></p>
<p>Harry was staring at Mr Lupin, so he noticed the very slight glimmer of fear on his face when the man glanced down past Snape to Harry, but it passed quickly and his expression was calm when he returned his gaze to Snape.</p>
<p>“Yes, me. I have been since it was established, and there’ve been no complaints or problems. I’m sure you’d have heard about it if there were, so I don’t see that <span><em>you</em></span><span> have any right to complain.”</span></p>
<p>“Oh, you think so?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Mr Lupin said, voice hardening slightly, “and if you disagree then we can discuss it in the office, away from the children.”</p>
<p>Snape didn’t answer immediately, fingers twitching slightly on his wand. His gaze flicked towards the crowd of kids across the playground, then his head turned slightly to get a glimpse of Harry.</p>
<p>He looked back to Mr Lupin, but said, “Go join the other kids, Harry.”</p>
<p>Harry hesitated, looking between the two men, but Mr Lupin smiled gently at him and nodded, and Snape ordered, “Go!” so Harry headed across the playground. Snape shifted as he went, staying between Harry and Mr Lupin the entire time.</p>
<p>Mrs Weasley had broken up the fight so the other kids, eager for something more interesting than a scolding, all gathered around Harry, pestering him with questions. He answered them absently, watching Snape and Mr Lupin enter the building. He had no idea what their confrontation had been about, but he really hoped Snape didn’t change his mind about Harry still going here because of it.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The school’s office was reasonably sized, crammed with a messy desk, a filing cabinet shoved in one corner, a sofa and a sideboard with a kettle and tea things. Severus entered it behind Lupin, wand still in hand and gaze never leaving the werewolf as he shut the door and moved to the desk.</p>
<p>“Does Weasley know what you are?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Lupin answered calmly. “As does James, of course, and he still presides over the school even if he doesn’t work here.”</p>
<p>Severus’ lip curled. “Yet again Potter proves his utter unsuitably to be even tangentially caring for children, as if the way he abandoned my son wasn’t enough.”</p>
<p>Lupin leant against the desk, hands loosely clutching the edges. “He’s sorry about –”</p>
<p>“Don’t apologise for him.”</p>
<p>Lupin frowned, but nodded. “I shouldn’t, I suppose. But he does feel bad for throwing Harry out like he did.”</p>
<p>“He’s not getting him back. If he even thinks –”</p>
<p>Lupin shook his head. “He won’t do that. He wishes he hadn’t been so abrupt and callous in how he did it, but he still doesn’t want Harry living with him.”</p>
<p>“What happened to the girl wasn’t Harry’s fault,” Severus snapped. That might not be entirely true – Severus hadn’t been there, he only knew what Harry and Fawcett told him – but he’d defend his son against any accusation from Potter.</p>
<p>But Lupin just said, “I know. I think James knows, too, he’s just too upset at the moment to think clearly. Harry would never intentionally hurt Calla.” He paused then, worrying briefly at his lip before saying, “But that’s not what you came here to discuss.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t come here to discuss anything.”</p>
<p>Lupin appeared calm as he looked at Severus, but his hands tightened on the desk and his gaze flickered briefly to the wand still in Severus’ hand.</p>
<p>“Are you going to tell everyone about… me?” When Severus didn’t immediately answer, he hurried to add, “I’m not a danger. I don’t work the six days around the full moon and I take the new Wolfsbane Potion. Have you heard of it? It –”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Severus interrupted shortly; it was one of the legal potions he brewed and sold. “I also know how expensive it is. You expect me to believe you can afford it? I seriously doubt Potter pays you <span><em>that</em></span><span> much. Doesn’t this place run on donations?”</span></p>
<p>Lupin looked faintly embarrassed. “Yes. My salary is – well, anyway, I have other means.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Severus drawled. “You manage to keep <span><em>two</em></span><span> jobs? I am astounded.”</span></p>
<p>Lupin scratched his chin. “Well, not precisely. I merely – my finances are really none of your concern anyway,” he said, finally showing a modicum of backbone.</p>
<p>Severus considered him, considered what he’d heard about his old schoolmates over the years, and slowly smiled. Lupin tensed.</p>
<p>“Dear me, Lupin, there’s no need to be ashamed,” Severus said silkily. “Really, for a thing like you, being a kept man is a remarkable achievement, though it doesn’t surprise me in the least that Black is into bestiality.”</p>
<p>Lupin straightened up, knocking a quill to the floor in his haste, and it was Severus’ turn to tense, wand raising. For a moment they just stared at each other, Severus ready to hex him and Lupin looking as if he was about to pounce, until Lupin sat back again.</p>
<p>“You didn’t answer my question. Do you intend to tell anyone about me?”</p>
<p>“And if I do?”</p>
<p>“They’d shut us down, Severus.” Lupin almost sounded pleading; Severus almost enjoyed it. “You know they would, despite the fact we’ve never had a problem in five years. Would you do that to all those kids?”</p>
<p>He gestured at the door, through which they could hear the chatter of young voices and a small stampede of footsteps passing.</p>
<p>As if Severus gave a damn about any except one of them.</p>
<p>He sneered at Lupin. “Would I save them from getting eaten by their teacher?”</p>
<p>Lupin clenched his hands against the desk. “I told you, I’m no danger to them.”</p>
<p>“The Wolfsbane Potion is no guarantee –”</p>
<p>“I’m not even here at nights, Severus, and neither are they!” Lupin glared at him; Severus glared right back. “Just answer me straight, for Merlin’s sake, because if you intend to tell then I’d rather just quit.”</p>
<p>Severus raised an eyebrow at that. “You would quit?”</p>
<p>Lupin nodded stiffly. “If it keeps you from telling people, then yes. I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d rather that than the school having to shut down because of me.”</p>
<p>“So your livelihood is in my hands.”</p>
<p>Lupin didn’t answer that, just looked at him. It wasn’t a pleading look, which Severus was tempted to demand. He wondered just how much he could ask for to keep his silence and not demand Lupin’s immediate resignation.</p>
<p>There was a quick sharp knock on the door before it swung open and Weasley stuck her head in.</p>
<p>“Are you nearly done, Remus? The older ones are ready to start their lessons. Oh,” she said then, noticing Severus’ wand. She stepped inside properly, pushing the door shut behind her. “Is everything alright in here?”</p>
<p>Lupin looked at Severus. Severus stared back, glanced at Weasley, who was frowning deeply now, then back at Lupin. He bit back a sigh.</p>
<p>“Everything is fine if Lupin would hurry up with the paperwork I came here to deal with.”</p>
<p>Weasley looked to Lupin, who gave her a nod. “There’s some maths worksheets on the desk,” he told her. “Get them started on those and I’ll be out soon.”</p>
<p>Weasley nodded then turned to Severus. “Mr Snape, isn’t it? Harry’s… father.”</p>
<p>Severus nodded curtly. Weasley didn’t offer her hand, and neither did he. She was eyeing him somewhat distastefully; because she’d found him with his wand out, or because she knew and disapproved of him fathering a bastard? He’d have to find out just how much Fawcett and Potter and had told people about the circumstances of Harry’s conception.</p>
<p>“Well,” Weasley said stiffly, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, and I’m very glad Harry’s staying with us. I’m sure things are difficult enough for him at the moment without taking him out of school, too.”</p>
<p>Severus said nothing. Weasley sniffed and left. The door clicked shut again.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Severus,” Lupin said.</p>
<p>Severus turned dark eyes on him. “Don’t thank me yet, Lupin. I could still change my mind.” He paused to let Lupin absorb that, then added, “But I want something from you.”</p>
<p>Lupin eyed him warily. “What?”</p>
<p>“Harry wants to see the girl. His sister.”</p>
<p>“She has a name,” Lupin interrupted.</p>
<p>Severus ignored him. “I assume you’ve got visitation rights. I want your help to get Harry and I in to see her.”</p>
<p>“<span><em>And</em></span><span> you?”</span></p>
<p>“I’m not leaving my son alone with <span><em>you</em></span><span>.”</span></p>
<p>Lupin looked sad at that, but didn’t argue with him. “It won’t be easy. James has barely left Calla’s room since the accident.”</p>
<p>“Find a way to make it happen, or the whole world finds out what you are.”</p>
<p>“Severus, you can’t –” Lupin objected, but stopped short at Severus’ glare. He sighed. “Alright, I’ll figure something out.”</p>
<p>“Make sure you do. Now, there’s paperwork I need to sign?”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Three days was not enough. Severus knew it wouldn’t be. He couldn’t even get Harry into St Mungo’s in that time; no amount of threats could speed up Lupin’s work on that.</p>
<p>Which only left him one option. There was no hope of finding and convincing some child to give up their soul for Harry’s in the time he had, but finding out about Alison Morgan’s children was all too easy. He remembered her name, and her sudden promotion to superintendent made the news, so it wasn’t hard to find her workplace. From there, a few discreet spells got him her home address. He visited the house briefly on Monday afternoon while it was empty, to get an idea of the layout, then returned that night.</p>
<p>It wasn’t hard to sneak through a Muggle house undetected, but it reminded him uncomfortably of those few years working for the Dark Lord. He hadn’t often joined the raiding teams, his skills better suited to brewing potions for those teams in between potion and curse experiments the Dark Lord assigned him, but he’d gone a few times and hadn’t liked it.</p>
<p>He never <span><em>really</em></span><span> subscribed to the Dark Lord’s agenda. He did think wizards and Muggles were better off separated from each other, but he didn’t care to wipe out Muggles entirely and he took no pleasure in tormenting them. If he was going to torture someone, he wanted it to be someone who deserved it. Unfortunately he’d never had the chance to revenge himself upon Potter and Black during the war.</span></p>
<p>He wasn’t going to torture these Muggles, but what he did plan wasn’t much better. He acknowledged the slight guilt he felt only so he could then bury it; his son’s life and soul were more important than these Muggle children. Their parents might disagree, but the mother only had herself to blame. She shouldn’t have summoned a demon and left it roaming around to take advantage of innocent young wizards.</p>
<p>He’d already calibrated the soul gem the demon gave him; after touching it to Harry’s cheek as he slept, the crystal had turned a brilliant purple colour. Now, he snuck into the rooms of the Morgan children and touched it to each of them in turn. Against the eldest, a boy perhaps a year or two older than Harry, it lightened considerably, turning a pale lilac colour. Against the younger two, boy and girl twins, it lightened only slightly, but it was enough.</p>
<p>These souls were worth more than Harry’s. They would work for the Dark Sacrifice.</p>
<p>He left that night. He still had to research the exact steps of a Dark Sacrifice, and as he returned to Spinner’s End he had to wonder how a soul’s worth was determined. What made these children more valuable than Harry? Was it some reflection on the person Harry would grow up to become? Or was it all just bullshit dreamed up by a demon trying to trick him into performing a Dark Sacrifice?</p>
<p>He didn’t care if it was, as long as the demon came through on their end of the bargain.</p>
<p>He spent most of Tuesday researching, going through his library all morning then venturing to Knockturn Alley. Dark Sacrifices were elaborate rituals requiring certain objects; he had the candles and herbs for burning, but didn’t own a ritual knife. He usually disdained of this sort of magic, but he supposed it was necessary for ensuring his soul was banished to the hell dimensions when he died.</p>
<p>He wasn’t lingering on that aspect of things. What he’d said to Nemo was true, he did believe himself damned already, but that wasn’t the same as performing magic that guaranteed he was doomed to a torturous afterlife. He feared if he thought on it too much, he wouldn’t be able to go through with the sacrifice, but he’d never forgive himself if he let Harry go to a hell dimension when he could stop it.</p>
<p>It was strange how this child had been in his life for all of three days, but already Severus was willing to die for him. It was illogical, he knew, but Harry was <span><em>his</em></span><span> and he didn’t let what belonged to him get taken away.</span></p>
<p>With the knife, there remained only the issue of where to perform the ritual. He couldn’t do it at home, not with Harry there. Even without the boy, he wouldn’t risk drawing that kind of attention to his home; dark magic like this left traces that even the imbecilic ministry could pick up. But then where?</p>
<p>It came to him as he napped that afternoon. He dreamt of his time as a Death Eater, not an unusual occurrence but likely prompted by his more recent illicit activities, and when he woke he knew exactly where to do the sacrifice. A failed attempt to destroy the Ministry of Magic building shortly before the Dark Lord’s downfall prompted them to move headquarters. Severus had been one of those asked to scout new locations and he’d found the perfect one right when the Dark Lord died.</p>
<p>It was a recently abandoned mental hospital in east Yorkshire, shut down amidst outrage over their outdated and abusive ‘treatments’. The building itself was supposed to have been knocked down, but the council decided it was too much money. It didn’t take him long to discover the building was still standing and still abandoned, now in considerable disrepair.</p>
<p>He had to pick up Harry then, and put all thoughts of Dark Sacrifices behind his Occlumency as he Apparated to the school. He was one of only a few parents there; lessons for the day finished at three o’clock, but most kids stayed for another two or three hours while they’re parents worked. Appealing as it was to Severus to give himself an extra few hours freedom, he wasn’t willing to let his son remain in the care of a werewolf any longer than absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>He was regaled with Harry’s daily activities during the walk from the river to Spinner’s End, though he had no interest in Lupin’s teaching methods, the Patil twins’ rebellion against matching outfits and hairstyles, or the dead frog Harry found. Fortunately Harry didn’t require much more input than acknowledgement.</p>
<p>Back home, he suddenly remembered he had a delivery to make to one of the legitimate apothecaries tomorrow, so he left Harry doing homework while he retreated to the lab. There were several potions he had to make in batch, but they were all simple ones that he could do simultaneously.</p>
<p>When he returned to the living area, Harry was sat on the floor with a deep look of concentration on his face, an unfamiliar wand in his hand, and Nemo sitting opposite him.</p>
<p>Severus’ wand jerked up, sickly orange light burst from the tip, and slammed into the wall behind where Nemo sat half a second earlier.</p>
<p>Harry yelled. Severus ignored him, eyes and wand scanning the room. His heart beat in his chest with a terror he hadn’t felt since the Dark Lord died. It was impossible to Apparate to or from his home, or within a mile around it; he’d personally made sure of that. If the Aurors ever came for him, he’d have chance to escape before they reached the house.</p>
<p>But there was no sign of Nemo, even when he cast several detection spells. He stalked to the front door and wrenched it open to check the street, then hurried across and broke into Nemo’s own home. It was sparsely furnished, littered with empty potion vials and Muggle drug paraphernalia, and stank worse than a rubbish tip, but Nemo wasn’t there.</p>
<p>He returned home, hands trembling slightly as the adrenaline of the moment caught up to him. Harry stood in the middle of the living room, eyeing Severus and clutching the wand to his chest. It was a pale brown wood, probably similar in length to Severus’ own, but looking longer in a child’s hands. It took everything Severus had not to snatch it from the boy and snap it clean in two. Only the gut-wrenchingly wary look in those familiar green eyes held him back.</p>
<p>“Put it down.”</p>
<p>Harry clutched the wand tighter. “No. It’s mine.”</p>
<p>“It’s dangerous. Put it down.”</p>
<p>Harry looked at him as if here were an idiot. “Wands aren’t dangerous, everyone has one. And this one’s mine so it’s definitely not dangerous.”</p>
<p>Severus was not going to argue with a child. He cast a silent <span><em>Accio</em></span><span> and the wand jerked from Harry’s hands to cross the room.</span></p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>Severus ignored him, gingerly taking the wand and laying it on his writing desk. Aware of Harry approaching, he idly cast a spell to halt him and then another to silence his objection. Sitting, he examined the wand, checking for hexes and jinxes, curses that harmed the user or twisted their spells to unexpected results. When that found nothing, he checked for subtler spells, dark magic that’d gradually twist a person’s mind or sicken them so steadily until, by the time it showed, it was too late to do anything.</p>
<p>Half an hour later, he was forced to admit there were no spells on the wand that he could detect. He turned in his chair to face Harry, still stuck in place. His face was streaked with tears but his expression was bitterly angry. When Severus removed the spells, he didn’t move but to angrily wipe his face.</p>
<p>“You’re mean.”</p>
<p>“I am trying to protect you,” Severus said harshly. “I’ve told you before that Nemo is dangerous and yet you invited him <span><em>inside my house!</em></span><span>”</span></p>
<p>“Didn’t,” Harry said mulishly. “He let himself in.”</p>
<p>“You should have fetched me!”</p>
<p>“I’m not allowed in your lab.”</p>
<p>Severus gripped his wand and grit his teeth. This kind of obstinate idiocy was exactly what he’d feared Potter would nurture.</p>
<p>“Anyway,” Harry went on stubbornly, “he needed my help. He cut himself and needed me to fix it. He already knew about the demon and he wanted to see how much I could do, but first he had to make loads of wands to find the one that worked for me. I want it back.”</p>
<p>Severus’ growing fury stuttered abruptly at that final revelation. “What do you mean he ‘made loads’?”</p>
<p>“He just kept making them appear from nowhere.”</p>
<p>“That’s impossible.”</p>
<p>Harry shrugged. “Nemo did it.”</p>
<p>“All so you could heal a cut?” Severus scoffed.</p>
<p>Harry nodded, then shook his head. “He said he’s a drug addict and asked me to deoxi–” he paused, frowned, tried again, “de-tox-i-fy him, but you need potions for that. I fixed his teeth though, they were gross.” He shuddered, then added, “He thought I would do better but I guess I need to practice more. Can I have my wand back now?”</p>
<p>“No. You disobeyed me,” Severus said sternly when Harry started to object. “You can go to your room and stay there until I call you for dinner.”</p>
<p>Harry stomped off, scowling, but Severus was already turning back to the wand. For years he’d dismissed Nemo as nothing more than a junkie. He knew there had to be a little more to him given how easily he provided payment, but had given it no more thought than assuming the money came from some illegal endeavour.</p>
<p>Now, however, it was clear there was much more to him. He’d utterly immobilised Severus on Sunday, vanished without a trace today, and apparently could conjure countless wands from nowhere. It was impossible to conjure such highly magical objects from nothing; one could only Unvanish something they knew had been Vanished before. Surely Nemo hadn’t Vanished multiple wands at an earlier time just to conjure them later for Harry.</p>
<p>So who the hell was he and what did he want?</p>
<hr/>
<p>No answers came to him that evening and he was forced to push the issue aside. He made their dinner, had Harry finish his homework, and ordered him to bath afterwards, realising he hadn’t done so since the boy came into his care. Harry complained and grumbled, but did as he was told; Severus wasn’t sure if the complaining was a farce, or Harry was aware of his own growing filth despite a dislike of bathing.</p>
<p>He’d intended to slip Harry another sleeping potion and leave him safe in the house that night, but after Nemo’s visit he decided against it. He long ago set up a safe house for himself, a flat in Muggle London, and he took Harry there, settling the boy into bed. As he looked down at the sleeping child, he wondered if it was time to move. Maybe he should give up selling illegal potions and focus on being a good father, at least until Harry was grown.</p>
<p>But that would come later. For now, he had other business to deal with.</p>
<p>The old hospital wasn’t in complete disrepair. Although some parts of the structure were of questionable integrity, other parts still stood mostly undamaged, only their window panes missing and interiors housing the encroaching flora. The most well standing part appeared to have been a chapel; the shape of the empty windows were narrow where others were broad, and a few remaining pews were rotting before what might have been an alter.</p>
<p>Severus’ first task was setting up protective charms and spells. He couldn’t have local teens trying to impressive their friends stumbling in on him, and he needed to make sure the Ministry wouldn’t catch wind of the dark magic before he even completed his task. The Dark Magic Detection Department were generally useless, as evidenced during the war – rumour had it they were to be shut down – but even they wouldn’t miss a surge of dark magic akin to that involved with a Dark Sacrifice.</p>
<p>With that done, he cleared a space, consulted his books, and set about painting the requisite symbols across the floor: pentagrams and seven-pointed stars, nested within each other; runic symbols, few familiar from his studies at Hogwarts; icons and symbols he saw no meaning in, but which the instructions insisted were necessary. He set candles at intervals around it all, and into the centre put a single large wooden table, transfigured out of the abandoned furniture.</p>
<p>His preparations complete, he allowed himself only a fortifying breath before he Apparated to Leeds.</p>
<p>Though not especially late, the Morgan household was already dark. Under the protection of a Disillusionment Charm, Severus crept into the back garden where he couldn’t be seen by the neighbours and cast a revealing spell to determine how many people were inside. It showed him four shapes – three children, one adult, likely male. He recalled seeing pictures of a husband yesterday, but nothing that indicated what he did for a living. Whatever it was, it must have early starting hours for him to be abed so early.</p>
<p>With no idea when Alison Morgan herself would be returning home – though probably not soon if her husband hadn’t left a light on for her – Severus put a charm on his feet to muffle his footsteps and broke silently into the house. Not wanting to draw attention with <span><em>Lumos</em></span><span>, he waited until his eyes adjusted to the dim light before moving further in.</span></p>
<p>Upstairs, he used a Locking Charm on the door of the master bedroom, followed by a Noise Muffling Spell, and then moved onto the room which housed the younger two children. Both were asleep, but the girl stirred slightly as Severus crossed the room. He paused, waited for her to settle again, then went her bed.</p>
<p>He’d decided transfiguration was the easiest way to transport the children and some of his research earlier had been on human transfiguration, something he hadn’t done since his school years. When he disguised himself while visiting the illicit dealer he supplied, he used potions; they were more reliable and harder to detect.</p>
<p>He’d never had need to transfigure a whole person before, but it was easier than partial transfigurations and it went perfectly. The girl on the bed turned into a fabric doll, its brown cotton hair and clothes still an imitation of the real child’s, and he picked it up with some satisfaction at a job well done.</p>
<p>There was a gasp, and then a scream.</p>
<p>Severus whirled, the Stunning Spell leaving his wand before he even finished turning. It hit the boy on the opposite bed and he fell from his half raised position. Swearing, Severus turned to the door, hearing movement from across the hall. He waited, listening, and when the door opened he cast another Stunning Spell as soon as the figure appeared. The elder boy, the one who’d turned the soul stone lilac, collapsed to the floor in a silent heap.</p>
<p>Severus moved quickly. There were sounds from the master bedroom suggesting the father had woken, but not urgent; his Noise Muffling Spell wasn’t enough to silence things completely but at least the father wasn’t hurrying to investigate. Severus transfigured the two boys to dolls, scooped up both, and Apparated directly away from the house.</p>
<p>He would’ve liked to remove the Locking Charm on the master bedroom but could already hear the father at the door. It wouldn’t matter a great deal; even if circumstances did conspire to bring this ordinary Muggle home under the attention of wizards, it was almost impossible to determine the caster of a spell.</p>
<p>Back at the hospital, he returned the children to their proper selves, and had to Stun the girl as she woke from the change. He laid all three on the table he’d made, and checked all his markings one last time before taking out the ritual knife. The blade glimmered in the moonlight coming through the broken windows as he shook back his sleeve and put the knife to his arm.</p>
<p>He glanced at the children on the table, at the small bodies hardly bigger and hardly smaller than Harry. He thought of his son, tucked in bed at the safe house, blissfully ignorant of the evil his father was about to commit for him. That Severus chose to commit, a magic darker than any he’d done before. Once he broke the skin of his flesh, there was no turning back. He would damn himself, put a tarnish on his soul that could never be wiped away, and all for a boy he’d known for less than a week.</p>
<p>A boy who had Severus’ hair and stance and temper, but Lily’s eyes and smile and heart. A boy with the potential to be great and good, but not if he died younger than even his mother had, all because of a deal made in childish ignorance.</p>
<p>A boy who was his son, and Lily’s son.</p>
<p>Severus firmed his grip, touched the blade to where the Dark Mark once stained his flesh, and –</p>
<p>A hand touched his shoulder, a hoarse voice murmured, “Idiot,” and then darkness.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Severus woke to the cloying scent of blood. He had an instant awareness that only came from being knocked out and revived by magic, and sat up to find Nemo sitting beside him. His wand was nowhere in sight.</p>
<p>Before him, still on the table he’d made, the three Morgan children lay dead, faces white and chests red. He swallowed down a sudden urge to vomit.</p>
<p>“What did you do?” he choked out.</p>
<p>Nemo didn’t look at him. “Nothing you weren’t planning to do yourself.”</p>
<p>Severus’ first reaction was horrified repulsion, but it was quickly followed by angry despair. “Son of a bitch.” Harry was doomed; even if Severus had time, he would never find three more possible sacrifices.</p>
<p>“Nice way to thank me for saving your son’s soul from eternal damnation,” Nemo said lightly, opening a fist to show a palm full of crushed purple crystal.</p>
<p>Severus stared at him. “You performed the Dark Sacrifice? Why?”</p>
<p>“I owed your Harry a favour,” Nemo said, then glanced at Severus. “And apparently I still care.”</p>
<p>“About what?” Severus asked, baffled. “And what favour? This is hardly equal to fixing rotten teeth.”</p>
<p>Nemo’s lips quirked slightly. “No. But I really can’t be bothered to explain it all. Suffice to say that your Harry taught me something immensely important.”</p>
<p>“He’s seven, what could he possibly teach you?”</p>
<p>Nemo shook his head and got to his feet. Severus quickly rose as well.</p>
<p>“I told you, I don’t want to explain it all. Just be grateful for what I’ve done and I’ll ask no payment for it.”</p>
<p>“For damning your own soul instead? You seemed convinced of it before.”</p>
<p>Nemo laughed humourlessly, gaze roaming over the three dead children before turning on Severus. “My soul was damned a very long time ago and has been tarnished in worse ways than this since then. A Dark Sacrifice is a raindrop in the ocean of my sins. Taking that burden from you is nothing at all.”</p>
<p>The man was mad, Severus decided. He just wasn’t sure if it was the kind of mad that should be locked up in St. Mungo’s or in Azkaban.</p>
<p>“What do you want from me?”</p>
<p>“Nothing,” Nemo said, turning to walk away from him. “You have nothing to give me, Severus, and I told you why I did this. After today, you’ll never even see me again.”</p>
<p>Between one step and the next, Nemo vanished. All that marked his passing was an echoing clatter as Severus’ wand appeared from thin air to drop lightly at his feet. Severus snatched it up wondering what the hell Nemo meant, though he probably wouldn’t have answered even if Severus had the chance to ask.</p>
<p>But he found out anyway. He went to the Muggle flat to fetch Harry, but when he returned to Spinner’s End, Nemo was sprawled motionless in the middle of the street. Severus’ first instinct was to flee right back to the flat, hastily setting down Harry before returning to Cokeworth.</p>
<p>Nemo hadn’t moved. Wary of a trap, Severus approached cautiously, wand in hand. He carefully didn’t think about the fact Nemo had twice before disarmed him without effort.</p>
<p>He stopped six feet away, still no movement from the other man. Was Nemo unconscious from some drug or potion? It wouldn’t be the first time he passed out in the middle of the street. But, after what happened at the abandoned hospital, Severus doubted that Nemo would have left to get drugged out of his mind. Unless…</p>
<p>He flicked his wand at the prone figure. Nothing happened, and he lowered his wand, stalking forwards and ungraciously prodding Nemo with his foot. He rolled onto his back and Severus stared down at him. At the white face and empty eyes, showing what his spell had already confirmed.</p>
<p>Nemo was dead.</p>
<p>“Bastard,” Severus spat, jerking his wand and making the body vanish. Now he’d never get answers to his questions.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Part 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This time, Severus took precautions in case things turned nasty, and it was a good job he did because as soon as the demon Crowley appeared, he tried to lunge at Severus in a fury. Only the devil’s trap etched into the dirt road kept him from reaching Severus. It was a basic circular runic spell, symbols within circles that worked together to restrain certain magics – or in this case, certain magical beings.</p>
<p>Like potions, a lot of runic magic was looked down on by many wizards because they weren’t flashy, but they were undeniably effective. So long as the outermost circle remained unbroken, the demon couldn’t leave its confines, even if it left the human body hosting it.</p>
<p>“You filthy, cheating piece of human shit,” he snarled, stalking the edge of the devil’s trap, Cockney accent thickening in his fury. “<em>You</em> were supposed to perform that sacrifice!”</p>
<p>“So it worked,” Severus said, keeping his voice flat, hiding any relief and fear he felt.</p>
<p>“Worked!” Crowley spat. “Of course it bloody worked, I made a <em>deal</em>, the boy’s soul was free if his crystal was destroyed in the blood of a Dark Sacrifice, and I <em>don’t break deals</em>, but it should’ve been you, not that thrice-cursed abomination!”</p>
<p>Severus cautioned a step closer to the circle. “What do you know about Nemo? Who is he?”</p>
<p>“I’m not telling you fucking anything, but I promise you this.” The demon stopped pacing, standing at the very edge of the circle, glaring across the distance at Severus. “I won’t forgive this, and I know who you are. I know where you go when you die. Dark Sacrifice or not, I’ll see you again one day, Severus Snape, and that day, <em>you’ll</em> be the one trapped.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure,” Severus said blandly, lifting his wand. “Until then – <em>Arkamda olsun</em>.”</p>
<p>It was the first thing he learnt when he originally decided to summon a demon – an exorcism spell. He wouldn’t be like the Muggles who left monsters free to roam the earth.</p>
<p>He followed it with a banishing spell that returned the now-bodiless demon to earth, then left the now unconscious human lying where he’d fallen. He didn’t care about whatever unfortunate fool had been possessed. He cared only to return home, to return to his son.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Snape wouldn’t tell Harry why he didn’t like Mr Lupin, but he didn’t take Harry out of school and Mr Lupin helped them get in to see Calla, so Harry didn’t mind so much.</p>
<p>It happened on Friday, after school. Snape surprisingly insisted on picking him up every afternoon, but instead of taking him home that day, they Apparated away from the school and appeared on a street in London.</p>
<p>Mr Lupin appeared moments later. He smiled briefly at them, then turned to the window of a closed down shop, leaning close and murmuring to the dummy on the other side, “Here to see Calla Potter.”</p>
<p>The dummy nodded and gestured with its finger, and the three of them stepped through the glass window. The reception area on the other side was filled with people suffering various maladies, some more obvious than others, and Mr Lupin led them past the chairs and towards the stairs.</p>
<p>“Calla’s in room two of the children’s ward,” he said quietly to Harry and Snape. “Get somewhere out of the way when we get there; I’ll convince James to come out for a bit and take him up to the cafe.” He gave Snape a sideways look. “How you get past the floor orderly is up to you.”</p>
<p>Snape said nothing to that.</p>
<p>On the third floor, Snape pulled Harry into a corner, ordered him quiet and cast a spell over them that felt like a broken egg running down Harry’s back. They watched Mr Lupin go to the door of a private room, opening and disappearing inside. From further down the corridor, the faint noise of quiet chatter came from the main ward, and an orderly was helping a child with a wooden foot to the bathroom.</p>
<p>It felt like they stood there for hours, but eventually the door to room two opened again and Mr Lupin came out with James. Harry shifted. He hadn’t seen James since Calla’s accident and he wondered what James would say if he saw him now. Probably nothing pleasant.</p>
<p>Once James and Mr Lupin were gone into the stairwell, Snape briskly led Harry towards room two. It took them past the floor orderly’s desk and she glanced towards them, frowned, then blinked and looked away with a shake of her head when Snape cast a quick spell at her.</p>
<p>At the door, Harry stopped, suddenly afraid to go in. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see the condition he’d put his sister in. Sure, it hadn’t been intentional, but it was still sort of his fault, wasn’t it? He’d decided to make the potion without supervision and then let Calla drink it first. It should’ve been him in a coma.</p>
<p>“Move, child,” Snape muttered sharply, turning the handle and giving Harry a slight shove.</p>
<p>It wasn’t as bad as it might have been. Calla lay in bed, tucked beneath the covers, looking as though she was merely sleeping except for the tube down her throat. That’s what Mary said a coma was, but Harry had still imagined Calla looking worse. It was the effect of hospitals; they conjured unpleasant images.</p>
<p>And yet, it was worse than it looked, because he knew now – really knew – what coma truly meant. It wasn’t just a deep sleep she wouldn’t wake up from, it was a problem with her brain and she wasn’t just going to suddenly wake up one day, perfectly fine and cheerful. If they didn’t figure out what was wrong, she could get worse and die.</p>
<p>Swallowing thickly, he stepped up to the bed and looked down at her. Looking closer, it was more evident she wasn’t just sleeping. Her face was pallid, her red hair limp against the pillow, and her mouth open around the tube. It was to supply potions and food straight to her stomach, the only way they could.</p>
<p>Around the tube, just behind her teeth, and just within her nostrils, was a faint green glow – the mark of a Breathing Assistance Charm. Harry remembered suddenly the blue tinge to her lips that came the day of the accident; he’d thought then that it was an unexpected side effect, but knew now it was a sign of oxygen deprivation.</p>
<p>“Do you understand this?”</p>
<p>Harry dragged his gaze away from Calla and over to Snape, who stood at the foot of the bed and held out a clipboard. Harry took it, frowning as he read it. He knew a whole host of medical jargon now, but it wasn’t words he’d learnt so he didn’t immediately recognise everything. It didn’t help that the handwriting was difficult to decipher.</p>
<p>Eventually, however, he figured it out and looked from it to Calla. “It says she’s showing all the signs of anaphylactic shock, but also that her brain activity has almost completely stopped even though they treated the anaphylaxis quickly and there’s no reason for it. The anaphylaxis keeps reoccurring, like she’s still being subject to the trigger.”</p>
<p>“Hm.”</p>
<p>Harry looked up at Snape. “Oh, that means –”</p>
<p>“I know what anaphylaxis is, thank you,” Snape said shortly. “So why does it keep reoccurring?”</p>
<p>“They don’t know,” Harry said, putting the clipboard on the bed, and adding miserably, “Neither do I. It shouldn’t happen if the trigger isn’t present, and they got rid of all the toxins in her body, and the rooms are sterilised, and they tested her for allergies to all the ingredients in the Bubble Burp Brew and for a whole bunch of other stuff, but they can’t figure out what the problem is.”</p>
<p>Snape picked up the clipboard and flicked through it, eyes scanning a few pages closely. He drew his wand and tapped it, and duplicates of the sheets appeared. He returned to clipboard to it’s place and stuffed the duplicates in his pocket. “There’s nothing here on what tests they’ve run on the potion you brewed. We should leave; Potter and Lupin will be back soon.”</p>
<p>“But…” Harry looked at Calla, twice as miserable and guilty as he had been before. He was supposed to heal her, to use all this knowledge he’d gained from the demon, knowledge he’d sold his soul for, and yet he was just as useless as he had been before. He wanted to stay, to sit by her side until something clicked and he figured out what the problem was. He <em>had</em> to.</p>
<p>“If Potter finds us here, you’ll <em>never</em> get the chance to cure her,” Snape said sharply. “We’re leaving, now.”</p>
<p>Harry sighed, nodded, but reached out and patted the top of Calla’s head. “I’ll be back,” he promised her. “I’ll figure out what’s wrong with you and come back and heal you, I swear it on my magic.”</p>
<p>Snape frowned at him, but Harry ignored him. He meant it and he wanted Calla to know it. If he couldn’t heal his sister from something that was his fault, then he deserved to lose his magic and go live with Muggles.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Severus took Harry down to the research and testing laboratory in the basement; his contact in the potion lab had finally got back to him and agreed to give him a sample of the potion Harry brewed. The colour was slightly off, but aside from that it appeared properly made. The smell and consistency were right, and the colour variation would only suggest ingredient mismanagement which should only make it slightly less effective – smaller bubbles and fewer burps.</p>
<p>Obviously that hadn’t been the case here.</p>
<p>He wanted to test it immediately, but Harry complained of it being past dinner time. Severus used to eat whenever he got hungry and wasn’t busy, having odd meals at odd times of the day or night, occasionally going a day with nothing but coffee as he focused on his brewing.</p>
<p>Now, Harry got grouchy if he didn’t have dinner by six in the evening; ate a full bowl of cereal or toast and eggs for breakfast; sandwich, crisps, and fruit for lunch; and snacks mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and shortly before he went to bed. It seemed a lot to Severus, but the boy wasn’t fat, nor as skinny as Severus had been as a kid, so presumably it was as much as a growing kid needed.</p>
<p>Eager to get into the lab, he picked up fish and chips from the first Muggle takeaway he saw in London, then Apparated them back to Cokeworth. Once home, he left Harry eating and took only a handful of chips for himself as he headed for the lab.</p>
<p>Testing potions could be either incredibly boring or immensely dangerous. In this case, he knew the components of the Bubble Burp Brew, but didn’t know the flaw so couldn’t be sure what reaction he’d get when he mixed it with the reagents. The flaw was a wild card that could reveal itself in either an unexpected smell – or an unexpected explosion.</p>
<p>He started with the standard testing agents, all of which confirmed his initial assessment. The potion was properly brewed, though at slightly too warm a temperature – the heaters in the room where it was made had probably been on – and with chizpurfle shells that were past their best. Likely the bamboo leaves hadn’t been cut quite as finely as they should have been, too, but all in all none of that would do more than reduce the potency.</p>
<p>He moved onto other tests, first ones that the hospital lab would definitely have run, then ones they might not have – reagents that would identify parasites or rot in the original ingredients, tests to determine if the vial or cauldron it was in had been dirty, even tests with substances that imitated the fluids of the digestive system.</p>
<p>They all gave nothing.</p>
<p>Severus sat on a stool, staring at the remains of the Bubble Burp Brew. What the hell about this potion had put a healthy six-year-old girl into a coma?</p>
<p>He moved into his library. He had a book which covered simple brews like this, and the unexpected errors that could occur with them. Not one he’d looked at since childhood – he only made things which were actually worth the effort, money, or challenge – but he could never throw a book away.</p>
<p>It was on one of his highest shelves and he’d just located and got it down when a hesitant knock came at the door from the living room. His hand was halfway to his wand before he realised it must be Harry. As he set down the book and rounded his reading chair, he wondered how long it would take before he stopped forgetting about his own child.</p>
<p>When he opened the door, he found Harry standing in his pyjamas, messy hair suggesting he had actually been asleep a short while ago. To Severus’ horror, he was crying. Teary eyes looked up at him woefully.</p>
<p>“I had a bad dream,” Harry said.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Severus said.</p>
<p>Several tears spilled down Harry’s face. Snot was leaking from his nose and he sniffed, then wiped the excess on his sleeve. Severus’ lip curled.</p>
<p>He conjured a handkerchief and thrust it at Harry. “Your sleeve is not a tissue. Wipe your face, child. It was just a dream.”</p>
<p>Harry took the kerchief and wiped the tears and snot from his face, then ruined the whole thing by crying again as he stuttered out, “But it was really bad. Calla died and everyone knew it was my fault and I was arrested and they sent me to Azkaban and the Dementors sucked out my soul and you wouldn’t save me and –”</p>
<p>“Stop,” Severus interrupted harshly. He had vague memories of his mother comforting him as a child, holding him on her lap and assuring him that dreams couldn’t hurt. He didn’t feel quite up to holding Harry on his lap (wasn’t the boy too old for that anyway?) but he took Harry’s shoulder and guided him to the sofa, sitting him down and sitting beside him.</p>
<p>“Whatever happened to Calla is not your fault, and it still won’t be if she dies. No one will send you to Azkaban, they don’t use Dementors on children, and no matter what happens, I will <em>not</em> let your soul be lost.”</p>
<p>Harry didn’t look comforted. Severus sighed.</p>
<p>“Harry, I will not let anything like that happen to you.”</p>
<p>“But what if Calla does die?”</p>
<p>“Then I will curse anyone who tries to arrest you.”</p>
<p>“But it’s my fault,” Harry said, lip wobbling and fresh tears in his eyes.</p>
<p>“No, it’s not.”</p>
<p>“But I brewed the potion and let her drink it and –”</p>
<p>“Did you doctor it?”</p>
<p>“Doctor…?”</p>
<p>“Put something in it that you shouldn’t have,” Severus explained.</p>
<p>Harry frowned. “No, of course –”</p>
<p>“Did you purposely make it wrong?”</p>
<p>“No, I –”</p>
<p>“Did you hold Calla down and force her to drink it?”</p>
<p>“No!”</p>
<p>“Then it’s not your fault.”</p>
<p>“But –” Harry began. Severus was getting sick of that word.</p>
<p>“No buts. This was not your fault. In fact,” he said, a sudden idea coming to him, “I’m going to prove it. You’re going to come and brew the Bubble Burp Potion now.”</p>
<p>Harry gaped at him. “Why?”</p>
<p>“To show me exactly how you did it. I am a master of potions; if there is anything wrong in your method, I will notice and tell you.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Harry said. “Now?”</p>
<p>He went to wipe his face on his pyjama sleeve again. Severus stopped him, glaring pointedly at the handkerchief.</p>
<p>“Yes, now, unless you’re too tired.”</p>
<p>Harry shook his head. “I don’t want to go back to sleep.”</p>
<p>“Right then.” He took the handkerchief from Harry, refolded it to a clean patch, and wiped the snot and tears the boy had missed before vanishing it. Harry made to slip off the sofa, but Severus pushed him back, staring at him hard. “I am going to let you into my lab for this, <em>however</em> I want to make it very clear that this does not mean you can enter it whenever you like.”</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>“While we’re in there, you will go where I tell you, and touch only what I tell you. There are dangerous potions, ingredients, and tools in that room. If you touch anything I don’t say you can, you will never so much as look in that room again, is that clear?”</p>
<p>Harry nodded, solemnly enough that Severus didn’t ask a verbal promise from him. The boy was remarkably expressive, and while sometimes it reminded him of Lily, sometimes it reminded him of his own parents. Eileen had been cold with Tobias, but always open with Severus, and Tobias had never made efforts to hide his (usually negative) feelings.</p>
<p>He suddenly wondered what Harry would be like if he got really mad. Tobias was usually the one shouting in Spinner’s End, but Eileen could put his moods to shame if she lost her own temper, and Severus knew how much he struggled to control his. Lily had never tried, often described as a firecracker, outspoken, or a bitch, depending on who said it. Severus was curious to see how that had all manifested in Harry.</p>
<p>But not now. He took Harry through to the lab, sat him on a stool, and ordered him not to touch anything while he collected a cauldron and the necessary ingredients. He set them up in front of Harry, pulled up a stool of his own, and gestured.</p>
<p>“Go. Do it exactly as you did before.”</p>
<p>Harry looked at him, at the cauldron and ingredients, then set his chin and got to work.</p>
<p>His methodology wasn’t perfect – he was hasty putting things in the cauldron, wasn’t careful about cutting evenly, and his stirring was inefficient – but he followed the instructions, and there was nothing in his work that would cause problems. The final product was a weak, slightly off-colour but perfectly functional Bubble Burp Brew.</p>
<p>Severus ran it through the basic tests then took a risk and downed a mouthful himself. He grimaced at the feel of gas building in his stomach, rising up his chest, and then burped it out. A fist-sized bubble left his mouth, leaving behind a minty aftertaste, and floated up to pop against the bottom of his balcony.</p>
<p>Feeling another begin to grow, he went to collect the ingredients for the antidote.</p>
<p>“Tell me your –” he burped again “– your sister’s symptoms.”</p>
<p>“When she drank it?” Harry asked. Severus was kept from make a sarcastic comment by another burp. “She didn’t burp at all. She touched her chest and fell off the chair and her lips were blue – that’s cyanosis, ’cause she couldn’t breathe properly – and her eyes rolled back.” Severus returned to the work bench, seeing Harry frown. “She didn’t go into anaphylaxis right then. That must have happened later.”</p>
<p> Severus brewed the antidote quickly – it was a simple, general antidote that he could make in his sleep – and was glad to finally stop burping. It still left a minty taste in his mouth.</p>
<p>“So it stopped her breathing first,” he said, absently tapping his fingers to his mouth.</p>
<p>Harry nodded. “Can I try it?”</p>
<p>“Hm?”</p>
<p>“Can I drink the potion?”</p>
<p>Severus lowered his hand, frowning at the boy. “Why?”</p>
<p>Harry shrugged. “I want to try it. And maybe it only makes kids get sick, not adults.”</p>
<p>“So you want to put yourself in a coma,” Severus said dryly. “I’m glad to see you have such a strong sense of self-preservation.”</p>
<p>“It might help us figure out what happened.”</p>
<p>“Except I have no idea what could cause a coma, or any of the other symptoms.”</p>
<p>Harry frowned deeply, brow furrowing, and then quicker than Severus could stop him, he snatched the vial Severus had drank from and downed a mouthful.</p>
<p>“Idiot!”</p>
<p>Harry set the vial down and burped, a bubble leaving his mouth. Severus watched him, eyes scanning close for any sign of difficulty breathing or any other problems.</p>
<p>“How do you feel?” he asked. Harry was frowning, and burped again before answering.</p>
<p>“I’m okay. It tastes like mint.”</p>
<p>“Of course it does,” Severus said sharply, “you put peppermint leaves in it.”</p>
<p>“But there’s no cherry taste. Calla said it tasted like cherries.”</p>
<p>Cherries? There was absolutely nothing in this potion that could cause that taste.</p>
<p>Harry burped again, then yawned widely. Severus scooped up another dose of the antidote and passed it to him. “Drink that and go to bed.”</p>
<p>Harry took the antidote, but didn’t move. “But I’m not tired.” He punctuated the lie with another yawn. “Why did the one I made before taste like cherries?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Severus said, already mentally indexing which books in his library might have the answer, “but I’ll find out.”</p>
<p>“I can help,” Harry said, yawning again. “You might need my medical stuff.”</p>
<p>“I don’t need anything from you right now,” Severus told him, nudging him off the stool and towards the door. They passed through the library and living room, Harry making only a token objection, but when they reached his bedroom, Severus watched him climb into bed then perched on the edge.</p>
<p>“There’s one thing I need from you actually,” he said severely, and Harry perked up slightly, battling the pull of sleep.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“I want you to promise me, on your magic, that you’ll never again drink a potion that I’ve not said you can drink.”</p>
<p>Not that promising on one’s magic actually meant anything, but Harry clearly still believed the myth that breaking such a promise would turn someone into a squib, and Severus was more than willing to take advantage of it.</p>
<p>“But it helped you figure out the problem,” Harry objected, only to slouch when Severus shook his head.</p>
<p>“That’s besides the point. Anything could have happened, and I brew a lot of potions that are extremely dangerous. So promise.”</p>
<p>“I promise, on my magic,” Harry said reluctantly but earnestly. It would do.</p>
<p>“Good. Now go to sleep.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Harry woke up to a hand roughly shaking him. Bright winter sunlight already backlit his curtains, suggesting he’d slept later than usual. He still wasn’t fully rested, and he looked up blearily as Snape thrust a book in front of him.</p>
<p>“My medical texts are lacking,” he said. “Do you know what effect this has on the human body?”</p>
<p>Harry sat up, yawning, and rubbed his eyes before peering at the book. Snape pointed impatiently to the subheading.</p>
<p>“My…a lot…”</p>
<p>“Mya-lota toxin,” Snape read out for him.</p>
<p>“Oh, that,” Harry said, and then gasped, scrambling up to stand on the bed. “That’s it! It stops you breathing and it has to be treated with a special made anti-toxin ’cause all the other treatments only put it off and then it copies anaphylactic shock. This is what’s wrong with Calla!”</p>
<p>Snape pulled the book back to himself, smiling smugly. “A toxin found exclusively on the shells of chizpurfles that have interacted with Muggle electrical equipment, and which interacts with bamboo leaves to create a taste of cherries so strong it can even overwhelm mint.”</p>
<p>Harry bounced on the mattress, unable to keep still in his excitement. “That’s it, now we can save her! You can make the antitoxin and we’ll go to the hospital and James won’t even mind ’cause…”</p>
<p>But Snape was shaking his head, frowning now at the book. “There’s no recipe here, but an antitoxin like this will be difficult to brew and I haven’t slept yet. It also mentions that it has to be brewed with the same chizpurfle shells from which the original toxin came.”</p>
<p>Harry’s bouncing stopped. “So? What does that mean?”</p>
<p>Snape closed the book with a snap. “It means we would need some of the shells you used to brew the potion, from Potter’s house. Assuming you didn’t use all of them?”</p>
<p>Harry shook his head. “There were loads in the jar. We only needed some. We need to go now then, we have to save Calla.”</p>
<p>Snape frowned down at him, opened his mouth to speak, then stopped and shut it again. He thought for a moment, then his expression brightened. “Fawcett is coming to take you to fetch the rest of your belongings from Potter’s house today.”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah.” After the hospital visit and last night’s activities, Harry had completely forgotten about it.</p>
<p>“I need sleep,” Snape said. “When Fawcett takes you, get some of the chizpurfle shells. A handful, at least. I can brew it afterwards. <em>Don’t</em> tell your godmother about it.”</p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p>“Because she will insist on having someone else brew it.”</p>
<p>Harry frowned. “What’s wrong with that? If they can start sooner than you then that’s better.”</p>
<p>Snape looked down his nose at him. “I can assure you that I am a better potion maker than any imbecile at St Mungo’s, the Ministry, or wherever else they might outsource to. Besides,” he added with a sly look, “don’t you want the honour of saving Calla yourself?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Harry said hesitantly, “but as long as she gets better…”</p>
<p>“Do you want to see her again?” Snape asked.</p>
<p>“Of course!”</p>
<p>“Then <em>we</em> need to be the ones who make and administer the antitoxin. Nothing else will convince Potter to let you see your sister again.”</p>
<p>There may have been some small part of Harry that knew curing Calla as soon as possible was what mattered most, but his desire to get back in James’ good graces, even now, and his fear of never getting to see Calla again overwhelmed it.</p>
<p>“Alright. But you’ll make it as soon as me and Mary come back? And we can give it to Calla straight away?”</p>
<p>“As soon as it’s finished brewing,” Snape promised.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Harry agreed, his heart feeling lighter than it had in ages. Finally he was going to get his sister back.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Severus had his own reasons for wanting to brew the myalota antitoxin. There was the self-satisfaction in brewing a complex potion – which he confirmed it would be when he woke, finding the instructions in a book he’d picked up on a whim the day before Harry moved in and hadn’t got around to reading yet.</p>
<p>Then there was the obvious glee in one-upping Potter in any way, but more than that, he still owed a life debt to Potter after the incident in their fifth year. Saving the man’s daughter would pay that off.</p>
<p>He wasn’t thinking too much about afterwards. With his debt paid, he’d gladly cut all further ties with Potter, but the fact remained their respective children were half-siblings, and Harry at least wanted to remain close to the Potter girl. Left up to him, Severus wouldn’t have it, but that would upset Harry to no end. Severus didn’t have it in him to do that to the boy. Letting them see each other, however, would mean dealing with Potter.</p>
<p>And if Severus half hoped the girl wouldn’t want to see Harry, or that Potter would be an arse about it and refuse… well, no one had to know that.</p>
<p>It was mid-afternoon when he got to brewing. Harry had brought back the entire jar of chizpurfle shells from Potter’s home, rather than just a sample, but that suited Severus fine. Perhaps at some point he could experiment with what other effects could be caused by the infected shells, or figure out a way to determine the presence of myalota toxin</p>
<p> Initially he left Harry in the main house, the boy seemingly content to sort out the toys and things he’d brought back from Godric’s Hollow, but before long he began knocking at the library door, demanding updates on the potion. Deciding it would be easier, Severus permitted him into the lab, situated at a far work bench under strict orders to not touch anything or leave his stool.</p>
<p>But it was a long and complex brewing that he expected to last well into the night. Before long, presumably once he was satisfied that Severus was as good as he claimed, Harry began to get restless. Twice he tried to leave his stool, so when there was a ten minute window where the potion had to sit and simmer, Severus made a floo call to Regulus to see if he was free, then packed a bag and delivered Harry to Grimmauld Place in London.</p>
<p>It was almost one in the morning by the time the potion was done. Severus set it aside to cool then went to the bathroom and kitchen, satisfying bodily functions he’d had to ignore for the last six hours. As he ate a simple tuna sandwich, he wondered what to do next. It was extremely tempting to go straight to St Mungo’s to administer the potion; Potter would be absent at this time of the night, and on the off chance something did go wrong then Severus could leave with no one any the wiser he’d been involved.</p>
<p>But he knew Harry would want to be there when it was done. He was tempted to go fetch the boy from Grimmauld Place right then, but realised it would more prudent to wait until morning. There was just the issue of getting into the Potter girl’s room without being caught by either the healers or Potter himself.</p>
<p>He finished eating, returned to bottle the antitoxin, then headed to bed himself. He hadn’t slept nearly enough in the last week and it was beginning to catch up with him. He was still trying to adjust to the change of schedule that Harry’s presence had created.</p>
<p>He was woken the next morning by a banging on his front door, when the sun was barely up. Swearing under his breath, he crawled out of bed and peered through his curtains onto the street below. Regulus and Harry stood on the doorstep, Harry looking like he hadn’t seen a hairbrush and Regulus yawning widely behind his hand. At least Severus wasn’t the only one pulled out of bed early.</p>
<p>He pulled on a dressing gown and went down to answer the door. He’d barely laid eyes on the pair before Harry was pushing forwards and demanding to know, “Is it done? Did you finish?”</p>
<p>Regulus glared tiredly at Severus. “Whatever this potion you’re brewing is, it better be something special. He’s been up since five, demanding to come back.”</p>
<p>Harry tugged on Severus’ gown. “Well? Is it ready?”</p>
<p>Gesturing Regulus inside with a jerk of his head, Severus answered Harry in the affirmative. Harry yelled with delight, making Severus wince.</p>
<p>“Come <em>on</em>, then! Get dressed and we can go to the hospital!”</p>
<p>Regulus raised a questioning eyebrow at that. Severus sighed, but things were going to come out eventually. Whether or not he managed to provide the cure without getting caught, questions would be asked and Severus had a sneaking suspicion Harry would not be able to hold his tongue on the matter. Eventually it would come out that they’d provided the antitoxin that saved her.</p>
<p>“I’ll explain later,” he told Regulus, then to Harry: “Let me get dressed and we can go.</p>
<p>“Hurry!”</p>
<p>Shaking his head, Severus went. He dressed, retrieved a dose of the antitoxin from the lab, and within five minutes of Regulus and Harry’s arrival, Severus and Harry were in St Mungo’s. Regulus didn’t come, realising that whatever they were doing he was better off uninvolved, but he expected an explanation from Severus later.</p>
<p>Despite the early hour, Severus was annoyed to reach the third floor in time to see Potter entering Calla’s room. Whether he’d spent the night or merely come in early, it was an obstacle.</p>
<p>“But we’ve got a cure,” Harry said as Severus held him back, trying to figure out how to get Potter from the room. “James won’t stop us from curing her.”</p>
<p>Severus snorted softly. “James Potter will never believe I bring a cure for his daughter; he’ll think I’m trying to poison her.”</p>
<p>Severus stared down the corridor, thinking hard. What kind of distraction would draw Potter out? A simple ruckus, or would that only make him look out to see what the noise was? A false fire alarm? Except he was likely to take the girl with him as he fled. Perhaps he should send Harry out; Potter would surely come out to ensure Harry was kept away from the girl’s room…</p>
<p>“You’ll need to provide a distraction,” he said softly to Harry. “You need to lure Potter out so I can go in and administer the potion.”</p>
<p>“But I want to do it!” Harry objected, rather more loudly than Snape liked. He glanced down the hall, ensuring the ward orderly hadn’t heard, then glared at the boy.</p>
<p>“This is not the time for arguing.”</p>
<p>“But it has to be me. It was my fault so –”</p>
<p>Severus growled. “How many times have I told you –”</p>
<p>“<em>I</em> need to give the cure,” Harry finished, raising his voice again to speak over Severus. At Severus’ glare, he lowered his voice, but his expression was still obstinate as he stared up at him. “She’s <em>my</em> sister. Even if it’s not my fault, I want to do it.”</p>
<p>“This is not up for –”</p>
<p>“What the <em>hell</em> are you doing here?”</p>
<p>Severus stiffened at the voice. The Black brothers were similar enough in looks that they could be mistaken for one another at first glance, but their voices couldn’t be more different. Sirius had discarded all the etiquette and refinery that his parents had taught him, imitating every uncouth Muggle accent that he could – the exact opposite of what Severus had done when he reached Hogwarts.</p>
<p>He turned, his already fraying temper stretching to breaking point at the mere sight of his hated enemy, and hearing every bit of it in the single, snarled greeting of, “Black.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Harry had never been very fond of Sirius. He liked to play pranks, but Harry didn’t find it particularly funny to have a Hair-Loss Potion slipped into his juice. James hadn’t even told him off for that like he had when Sirius jinxed Calla’s shoes to make her dance wildly.</p>
<p>But he didn’t dislike him as much as Snape obviously did. Snape didn’t even talk to Mr. Lupin like <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>And Sirius clearly felt the same. He’d barely even glanced at Harry before laying into Snape, spitting insults, saying things that Harry didn’t entirely understand but could easily read the tone of.</p>
<p>Then, to make things worse, James turned up. Snape and Sirius made no efforts to keep their voices down, drawing attention from everyone on the children’s ward. The ward orderly came out first, bustling up to the arguing men and loudly clearing her throat.</p>
<p>“Gentlemen, if you don’t break this up, I’ll have to call security.”</p>
<p>“Call them anyway,” James said, stepping out from behind her. “This man is not allowed anywhere near my daughter.”</p>
<p>“You heard him,” Sirius said, shoving Snape. Harry had to step back to avoid getting knocked over in turn, but no one noticed. They all seemed to have forgotten about him.</p>
<p>That wasn’t a bad thing, he decided as Snape lifted his wand, the tip glowing already, because peeking out of Snape’s pocket was the antidote.</p>
<p>Harry glanced up. Snape’s imminent spell had completely drawn all attention away from him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed the vial from Snape’s pocket, darted around the adults, and slipped into the ward. One other parent and a few sick kids were looking out at the noise, but no one stopped Harry as he opened the door of Calla’s room.</p>
<p>She lay in bed, just like before, as if Harry had only left the room for minutes instead of days. But up closer he could see further signs of deterioration; her normally bright red hair was starting to look colourless, her skin was ashen. When he checked her chart, he found she’d stopped breathing twice since his last visit. The second time, the healers barely got her breathing again.</p>
<p>He pulled over a chair to steady himself as he knelt one knee on the edge of the bed, bending over Calla’s face. He popped the cork from the vial of antidote, focused on keeping his hand steady, and carefully poured it into the tube.</p>
<p>“<em>What the hell are you doing?!</em>”</p>
<p>Harry’s hand jerked, spilling some of the potion over the sides and onto Calla’s face. He quickly steadied himself, not looking around at James.</p>
<p>“I’m saving – ”</p>
<p>“Get away from her!”</p>
<p>He heard footsteps and tipped the vial further, pouring it out quicker, wanting to get it all out before James pulled him away.</p>
<p>He almost managed it. Hands grabbed him about the waist and jerked him back, spilling potion over Calla’s face and the side of the bed.</p>
<p>“Healer!” James yelled, carrying Harry away from the bed, hands gripping painfully at his waist. “<em>Healer!</em>”</p>
<p>The room was suddenly full of people and noise. A healer bent over Calla, Snape was yelling at James to let Harry go, Sirius was yelling at Snape, James was demanding to know if Calla was alright, a security witch was telling everyone to get out –</p>
<p>But amidst it all, Calla’s voice still came through loud and clear.</p>
<p>“Wha’s goin’ on?”</p>
<p>James dropped Harry, moving to the bedside so fast it was a wonder he hadn’t Apparated. Harry scurried to the other side, staring at his sister’s face as she looked around in confusion. Everyone else went silent, except the healer who withdrew the feeding tube before continuing to chant diagnostic spells, muttering to herself as the results wrote themselves onto the clipboard.</p>
<p>“Calla? Pumpkin, look at me.”</p>
<p>She blinked and looked at James. “Da’?”</p>
<p>A smile spread across James’ face. “Yeah, baby, it’s me. Are you okay? How do you feel?”</p>
<p>Calla looked around again, bewildered gaze passing over the crowded room, brow furrowing slightly at the sight of strangers, and eventually came around to settle on Harry. He smiled, just a little one because she still looked weak and sick and he was afraid she’d blame him for what happened, and relaxed only when Calla gave a weak smile back.</p>
<p>“Hi, Harry.”</p>
<p>“Hi, Calla. Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“’M tired. And sore. What… the potion!” Her eyes widened and she looked back to James, her lip wobbling. “Daddy, I’m sorry, we – ”</p>
<p>James shook his head, smiling, stroking her hair with one hand. “It’s alright. You’re alright now, that’s all that matters. “</p>
<p>“Yes,” Snape said smugly. “I believe you have my address, Potter, so you know where to send your thanks. Harry, let’s go.”</p>
<p>The looks James and Sirius gave Snape were far from thankful – James looked sick and Sirius looked ready to punch him – but Calla was awake and she squeezed Harry’s hand when he touched her, and so he didn’t care one bit what the adults were thinking.</p>
<p>“I’ll come see you later,” he promised her, “and I’ll tell you all about my new dad, but you’re still my sister, okay?”</p>
<p>She looked thoroughly confused, but nodded, so Harry squeezed her hand once more and left the room with a grin.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Epilogue: Seven Years Later</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>Severus stood stiffly on platform nine and three-quarters, arms folded over his chest, scowling as he watched the Hogwarts Express pull into the station. He didn’t move as it came to a stop, doors opening and children pouring out, just grimaced at the noise. The beginning and end of the year was always the worst.</p>
<p>He didn’t try locating Harry among the mass of students. His dark hair didn’t stand out from the crowd like the offensive orange of the Weasley brood or Draco Malfoy’s platinum blond. Harry knew Severus would be loitering at the back of the crowd of parents, and usually spent a while saying goodbye to all his friends anyway.</p>
<p>Severus only begrudged him slightly for it. He didn’t like waiting around any longer than he had to, but he was glad Harry had friends to say goodbye to. Growing up with him, Severus often feared his son would be as unliked and lonely as he himself had been as a teenager. But then Harry wasn’t as… unfortunate looking as Severus had been, and he had better social skills, whether learnt at the Lily Primary School or naturally inherited from his mother.</p>
<p>Not that Harry could ever be thought of as anything other than his own person. Severus caught glimpses in Harry that reminded him of himself or Lily, but never as much as he saw similarities between Draco and the elder Malfoys. Where Draco emulated his parents as much as he could, Harry seemed to have taken every good thing he inherited from Lily or learnt from Severus and melded it all into a wholly new person.</p>
<p>Maybe that was how he’d ended up in Hufflepuff.</p>
<p>When Severus first heard the news five years ago, he’d been stunned silent. He would’ve bet good money on his son entering Ravenclaw, but even if not then figured he’d end up in either Slytherin or Gryffindor. He hadn’t even <em>considered</em> Hufflepuff, but as the shock faded he realised that there was really nowhere else Harry possibly could have gone.</p>
<p>After all, what showed more loyalty than a child who bargained with a demon for information to save his dying sister?</p>
<p>The Potter brat herself had ended up in Gryffindor, of course.</p>
<p>Well, alright, she wasn’t actually a brat. Her father was still a wanker, but Calla was appropriately grateful to the man who’d saved her life. Severus didn’t even mind having her over for playdates.</p>
<p>She also knew about Harry’s deal. Harry insisted on telling her, but agreed to do so under a Secretus Charm which guaranteed Calla couldn’t repeat the information to anyone else. Besides her, the only other person that knew was an Italian healer whom Harry trained with during the school holidays, and corresponded with during term time. It meant Harry could share some of his medical knowledge without suspicion, and the healer was gradually introducing Harry as a healing prodigy so he could enter the profession as soon as he finished school.</p>
<p>To Severus’ surprise, Harry sought him out quickly that day, appearing through the crowd as the first families were leaving the platform; usually Severus would have to wait at least until half the crowd was gone before Harry came to him, but perhaps he missed his father after ten months without seeing each other. Normally he and Harry spent the holidays in Italy, but this year Hogwarts had hosted the newly resumed Triwizard Tournament, and Harry had spent the winter holiday at the castle for the Yule Ball, then also elected to stay over Easter.</p>
<p>Severus had received several panicked letters in the run-up to the Yule Ball as Harry begged for advice on which of his female friends to ask as his date without offending the rest. Severus told him to take whichever one he fancied; Harry replied that he didn’t fancy any of them. Severus told him to take a girl he did fancy, and Harry said he didn’t fancy any girls. A little annoyed by then over what seemed a stupid issue, Severus nevertheless penned a short but supportive letter that if Harry wanted to take a boy, that was perfectly fine and anyone who said otherwise ought to be hexed (but not when his teachers would catch him).</p>
<p>Harry replied that he didn’t fancy <em>anyone</em> and was worried there was something wrong with him, including an extensive list of injuries, illness, and other ailments that could cause problems in sexual development. Severus pointed out that if Harry was ill, he was the first person who’d realise, given his knowledge, and said he probably just hadn’t found anyone likeable amidst all the idiots that no doubt made up the student body of Hogwarts. As expected, that distracted Harry into a rant about how his friends weren’t idiots while Severus made a few enquiries into normal teenage development.</p>
<p>By the time of his next letter, he could honestly reassure Harry that there really was nothing wrong with not fancying anyone, that he may just be a late developer, or else asexual, something else which Severus discovered in his enquiries. Harry had seemed satisfied with that, or at least had dropped the subject. Severus supposed he’d have to broach the topic at some point during the summer, just to make sure Harry wasn’t worrying himself about it.</p>
<p>Perhaps soon, he thought, as he ran a gaze over Harry’s form. The boy was obviously concerned about something; his green eyes were shadowed and his mouth was tight. Even when some other student called his name and waved goodbye, Harry only gave them a thin smile before turning to Severus, and saying tersely, “Let’s go.”</p>
<p>Not about to linger if he didn’t have to, Severus straightened up and helped Harry carry his trunk to the Apparition departure point. Neither spoke as they waited their turn; when they arrived in Cokeworth, Severus asked how school had been, only to get a terse, “Fine,” in reply before Harry grabbed his trunk and stalked off in the direction of Spinner’s End.</p>
<p>Severus watched him go with a raised eyebrow. This, presumably, was the grumpy, difficult stage of teenage development. Fair enough, he’d knew it was coming and a curt response to a simple question wasn’t worth bitching about, but if Harry got worse and expected Severus not to put him in his place, he was in for a rude awakening.</p>
<p>When they reached the house, he expected Harry to stalk off to his room – it was what Severus used to do every summer, eager to spend as little time in Tobias’ presence as possible – but to his surprise Harry dropped his trunk in the middle of the living room, turned to Severus as soon as the front door was shut, and demanded, “What did you do?”</p>
<p>Severus folded his arms and looked down his nose at the boy. “I beg your pardon?”</p>
<p>Harry crouched, threw open his trunk, and dug through it for a book, which he brandished in front of him as he rose to face Severus again. “<em>This</em>.”</p>
<p>“This what?” Severus snapped, snatching the book away before Harry smacked him across the nose with it. A glance at the cover showed faded letters reading <em>Dire Demonic Deals</em>; his rising anger abruptly cooled, doused with fear. Harry had never asked much about his deal and its consequences; he’d always accepted Severus’ assurances that the matter was handled and his soul wouldn’t be going to hell.</p>
<p>He was familiar with the book he now held, one he’d read himself years ago when researching more into demons and demonic deals. Useful as an entry text, not one of the more informative books, however with just enough information that Severus could guess where the book came from. He’d had a letter from Ponoma Sprout in February saying Harry had been given several detentions for misadventures in the Hogwarts library.</p>
<p>He tossed it onto an armchair. “So not only did your break into the restricted section, you stole from it.”</p>
<p>“Who <em>cares?!</em>” Harry yelled, startling Severus, but before he could snap at the boy not to yell at him, fear once again doused his anger as he saw tears brewing in Harry’s green eyes. Harry hadn’t cried in years, and even then only from a broken arm after falling out of a tree. “You said I wasn’t going to h-hell!”</p>
<p>His voice broke on the last word, tears spilling down his face, staring at Severus with anger and fear and betrayal.</p>
<p>“Y-you said you sorted it.”</p>
<p>“I <em>did</em>,” Severus assured him, reaching awkwardly for his shoulder. Harry had declared himself too old for hugs last summer – and refused hugs in front of his friends a year before that – but Severus wasn’t sure if that extended to moments of emotional upset.</p>
<p>But Harry stepped away from him, still staring with the hurt-filled green eyes. It made Severus want to kill whoever caused that pain, but unfortunately the ‘whoever’ right now was himself.</p>
<p>“I read all about d-deals,” Harry said, taking a shaky breath and wiping angrily at his eyes. “No one’s ever broken a demon deal. They all go to hell. They all –” he choked again, then forced out in a miserable, terrified wail, “they get <em>killed</em> by <em>hellhounds</em>.”</p>
<p>Severus wasn’t awkward this time and Harry didn’t step away as Severus wrapped both arms around him and held him close. Harry was almost as tall as Severus himself now, with a hint of patchy hair growth along his upper lip, but it didn’t stop him burying his face in Severus’ shoulder and sobbing, hand coming up to clutch the back of Severus’ robes.</p>
<p>Severus said nothing at first, just held him and let Harry cry, patting the boy’s back. Only when Harry’s sobs lessened slightly did Severus turn his face to Harry’s ear and say quietly, “You will <em>not</em> die like that, and you will <em>never</em> go to the hell dimensions, I promise you that. I told you I dealt with this when you were younger, and I meant it.”</p>
<p>Harry sniffed and Severus restrained a grimace, but did pull a handkerchief from his pocket when Harry pulled back and thrust it at him. Harry took it and blew his nose before looking at him like a lost puppy.</p>
<p>“But how? What did you actually <em>do</em>?”</p>
<p>Severus hesitated, remembering three dead children in an old abandoned hospital. He’d never felt guilty for their deaths, especially as he hadn’t actually been the one to kill them, not even when the news reported their mother’s suicide less than a week later, but it was still something he was hesitant to admit to his son.</p>
<p>But Harry needed something more than just his words now, and while Severus never gave the details, he’d never lied about his dark past. As long as Severus never hurt anyone now, Harry forgave him his past transgressions. He even accepted, if disapprovingly, Severus’ illegal potions trade, under the condition Severus also donated free potions to addiction aid centres.</p>
<p>Sighing, he guided Harry to the sofa and sat beside him. “I summoned the demon you made your deal with, and it made me an offer.”</p>
<p>Harry sucked in a sharp breath, but Severus held up a hand to forestall any words.</p>
<p>“It said your soul would be freed from the contract if I performed a piece of very dark magic that would ensure my own soul goes to a hell dimension when I die. However –”</p>
<p>“<em>No!</em>” Harry burst out of his seat. “No, oh my god, why would you do that?! Dad, you can’t – we’ll summon him back – you’re not going to hell in my place – Merlin’s bollocks, why would you – look we’ll find something, some way to save you, hopefully without damning me too, but I’m not letting you die by those hellhounds, the book said –”</p>
<p>“<em>Stop.</em>”</p>
<p>Harry froze, staring at Severus wide-eyed. Severus rose from his seat, folding his arms over his chest and looking down at Harry.</p>
<p>“What have I told you about interrupting when I’m talking?”</p>
<p>“But –”</p>
<p>“But nothing. It is rude, so unless your backside is on fire, keep –”</p>
<p>“Keep your mouth shut until you’ve finished speaking,” Harry recited, eyes on the floor now. “Sorry.”</p>
<p>“I should hope so, because if you’d let me finish you’d have heard that I never had to perform that dark magic.”</p>
<p>Harry’s head snapped up, face white. “But that means I’m…”</p>
<p>“No, you’re not,” Severus said, and dropped back into his seat with a sigh. “I didn’t perform the dark magic because Nemo did it for me.”</p>
<p>“Nemo?” Harry’s brow furrowed with confusion, then straightened out in astonishment. “That junkie that used to live across from us?”</p>
<p>Severus nodded.</p>
<p>“But <em>why?</em>”</p>
<p>“I’ve been asking myself that for years,” Severus told him. “I was preparing to do the magic when he Stunned me and completed it himself. He refused to explain why, and then the bastard went and killed himself.”</p>
<p>Severus didn’t doubt that, but he could never be sure if it was intentional or accidental.</p>
<p>Harry dropped onto the sofa beside him, stunned. “But that was when I’d barely moved here. I didn’t know him, why would he damn himself for me?”</p>
<p>Severus had no answer for that, so said nothing, but he looked up at Harry’s next, worried question.</p>
<p>“Are you sure it worked?” He looked at Severus was unbridled fear in his gaze, fingers fiddling with the front of his robe, eyes flicking briefly to <em>Dire Demon Deals</em>. Severus couldn’t recall how much detail it’d had on hell dimensions or the hellhounds that hunted people down when their contract was up, but clearly it was enough to scare Harry.</p>
<p>Severus straightened up, holding Harry’s gaze firmly. “I’m sure. I was afraid Nemo performing the magic wouldn’t count, but I summoned the demon again and it assured me your soul was freed. You’ll live a long, long life.”</p>
<p>“Really?”</p>
<p>“Absolutely,” Severus said, then shrugged. “Unless you interrupt me when I’m talking again. Then I might have to kill you myself.”</p>
<p>“Ha ha,” Harry said dryly, but he was smiling, and that was enough for Severus.</p>
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